Gram panchayat election candidates can celebrate festivals

Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Sep 12 (UNI) Candidates contesting the gram panchayat elections have been allowed to participate in Ganesh festival and Ramzan Idd celebrations notwithstanding the election code of conduct.

This was informed by State Election Commissioner Nand Lal, who was in the city today to attend a meeting with officials in regard to the gram panchayat elections in 7794 places in the state.

The Election Commission has issued a set of instructions allowing the candidates and politicians to participate in the celebrations with some conditions. Mr Lal said the office bearers of a Ganesh Mandal or its board of trustees would be allowed to carry their names only and not the name of their party or their candidature in the elections. They have been asked not to felicitate any politician during these festivals and not to distribute any material among people.

He also said that the rural voters in Aurangabad, Amravati and Nagpur revenue divisions would cast their votes through the electronic voting machines while people in Pune, Konkan, and Nashik divisions would make use of ballot papers, ''as we do not have adequate number of EVMs''.

UNI