'Party office-bearers cannot campaign for candidates'

New Delhi: Ahead of its presidential poll, the Congress on Monday issued strict guidelines for the election in which the party has debarred party office-bearers from campaigning for candidates. As per the guidelines, the party office-bearers have to first resign from their organisational post if they wish to support any candidate.

Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are contesting the Congress president election in their personal capacity, the party said, noting that the "delegates are free to elect any one of them, as per their choice, through ballot paper".

AICC general secretaries/in-charges, secretaries, joint secretaries, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders, heads of frontal organisations, chiefs of departments, cells and all official spokespersons "shall not campaign for or against contesting candidates", it said.

"If they wish to support any candidate, they must first resign from their organisational post, after that they participate in the campaign process," it said.

The polling for the Congress presidential election will be held on October 17 and the counting of votes will be taken up on October 19. The results will be declared the same day.

Notably, more than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee delegates will vote in the poll. The Congress asked all PCC presidents to extend courtesy to the candidates during their visits to the respective states.

The PCC presidents will provide and arrange a meeting hall, chairs and other public announcement equipment for the candidate who wishes to hold the meeting of PCC delegates, it said.

"However, no such meeting can be called by the PCC president in their personal capacity," it said, adding that organising the meeting is the task of the proposer or the supporters of the contesting candidates.

During the election, the Congress said, no candidate can use vehicles for bringing voters nor resort to any "undesired pamphleteering" or any other kind of publication of propaganda.

"Controverters of these procedures shall render the candidature election invalid and make them liable for disciplinary action," the party warned.

"Utmost care must be taken to ensure that there is no mala-fide campaign against any candidate.