DDC Polls: SEC comes up with guidelines for star campaigners

SRINAGAR — Jammu & Kashmir’s State Election Commission (SEC) has ordered that travel expenses of star campaigners will not be billed to the election expenditure of the candidates.

According to the guidelines, the expenditure on travel incurred by leaders of a political party for propagating programme of that party shall not be treated as expenditure incurred/authorized by a candidate of that political party.

The Election Authority, in its notification on October 25, prescribed Rs five lakh as the maximum ceiling for incurring expenditure on contesting elections as a member of DDC.

The poll-body also ordered that the number of star campaigners shall be 40 in case of recognized political parties and 10 in case of registered unrecognized political parties.

According to the order, the list of star campaigners shall have to be submitted by the political party to the Election Authority after the notification(s) of the election.

“A political party can nominate only those persons who are members of that party as its leaders,” reads the guidelines.

The guidelines state that substitution of a star campaigner in the list is permitted only if the persons mentioned in the list dies or ceases to be a member of the political party concerned.