 "High-voltage campaigning for Karnataka elections to end today at 5 pm")
The campaign for the high-profile Karnataka assembly elections 2023 will conclude on Monday at 5 pm. The poll-bound state has seen star campaigners from all three major political parties – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and Janata Dal Secular [JD(S)] – hold mega rallies and road shows in an attempt to woo voters.
The state, which is about to enter a period of silence, has also been asked to emphasise on "clean and serious" campaigns by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Let's look at some of the key questions surrounding the campaigns in the upcoming elections.
Q) What are election campaigns?
-Through election campaigns, candidates and political parties prepare and present their ideas and positions on issues to voters in the period preceding election day.
Q) How do parties reach out to the citizens during election campaigns?
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-Candidates reach out to voters and deliver their messages in a variety of ways, including pamphlets, advertisements in radio, television, and print media, usage of new media, public events and rallies, and some other methods.
Q) What is the significance of election campaigns?
-Election campaigns allow candidates and political parties to present their ideas to citizens, assisting voters in making educated and informed decisions on election day.
Q) What is the legal window for campaigning?
-The Election Commission of India notifies the date of election in a particular state. The date of election determines the campaign period.
In India, the legal window for campaigning closes 48 hours before the election day, creating a so-called "blackout period" immediately before voting begins.
Q) What is the silence period?
-The commission uses the term "silence period" to refer to the 48-hour period during which candidates and parties are supposed to refrain from all forms of campaigning and from spreading campaign-related messages in constituencies that are about to go to the polls.
Q) What else is prohibited during the silence period?
-Sale of Liquor
-Holding public meetings
-Conferences and interviews
-Advertisements
-Loudspeakers
-Opinion polls and exit polls
Q) Opinion polls and exit poll
-While opinion polls keep running on various news channels and in print and digital media throughout the campaigning phase, exit polls are only allowed after the voting is done. Per Section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, "No person shall conduct any exit poll and publish or publicise the result of an exit poll through the print or electronic media or disseminate the result of an exit poll in any other manner whatsoever during such period as the Election Commission may notify in this regard." Any person who violates the provisions of this section is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to two years, a fine, or both.