Overview
- The Election Commission, which issued the order Thursday, ended the Model Code of Conduct with immediate effect everywhere except West Bengal’s Falta constituency.
- Governments in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry can restart policy moves and approvals that the code blocks, such as new schemes, major announcements and use of official machinery for publicity.
- The code stays in Falta because the Commission ordered a fresh vote there after cancelling the April 29 polling over severe electoral offences, with new polling on May 21 and counting on May 24.
- Results for the four state assemblies and Puducherry, and for bye-elections in Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Tripura, were declared on May 4 by the respective returning officers.
- The directive went out by official letter from Nirvachan Sadan, signed by under secretary Prafull Awasthi, to the Cabinet Secretary and state chief secretaries and electoral officers to implement the change.