A meeting of district administration officials with representatives of various political parties was held at the conference hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Wednesday, where election observer for Sonitpur district Tej Prasad Bhusal, joint secretary, general administration department was also present.
The meeting which was chaired by Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar Deka discussed issues related to the Model Code of Conduct, expenditure limit for candidates, rules of campaigning, deployment of agents on polling and counting days, among others.
Addressing the meeting, election observer Tej Prasad Bhusal urged the political parties to read and follow the guidelines as laid down by the Assam State Election Commission and sought cooperation of all political parties and public representatives for smooth conduct of the panchayat polls. To report any kind of discrepancies in the poll process one can contact the election observer at 94355-61666/ 70026-05891 over phone or meet him at Room No 1 at the new building of circuit house.
The representatives present were informed that the colour for ballot paper would be blue for electing Zilla Parishad member, pink for Anchalik Panchayat member, yellow for Gaon Panchayat president and white for Gaon Panchayat member.
The political parties and representatives were asked to seek prior permission from the district administration for organising rallies and public meetings, campaigning through loudspeakers and anyone found violating the norms and guidelines would be strictly dealt with.
The district administration has fixed a rate chart for purchase of various items and all contesting candidates have to stick to the rates as provided for purchasing any material for election purpose. The candidates will also have to submit expenditure statements at regular intervals for scrutiny of the election observer.