Close on the heels of an order asking political parties to foot the bill for inviting star campaigners, Election Commission (EC) has now restricted the number of such celebrities who may canvass for a particular party.
As per EC guidelines, registered political parties can appoint no more than 20 star campaigners, although for recognised parties, like Congress, BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI and CPI(M), the limit is 40.
"Political parties will now have to select their star campaigners keeping in mind the limit. They (the parties) will have to submit the list to the chief electoral officer and EC within seven days of the poll notification, which is fixed for November 9. No permission will be given after that," an EC official said.
All political parties have been informed about the new stipulation introduced by EC. The campaigners are appointed under Section 77(A) of the Representation of Peoples Act.
Further, the details of code violation, if any, by the star campaigners would be noted down in separate party registers.
EC had recently held that political parties would have to bear the expenses for inviting star campaigners.
