News: Election Commission (EC) ordered the removal of two senior BJP leaders from its list of star campaigners for Delhi assembly elections on the ground that comments made by them violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
Facts:
Star Campaigners
- There are no specific definitions of star campaigners according to law or the Election Commission of India.
- A recognized political party can have 40-star campaigners and an unrecognized (but registered) political party can have 20 which is communicated to the Election Commission.
- The expenditure incurred on campaigning by such notified star campaigners is not added to the election expenditure of a candidate.
Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
- These are the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for the conduct of political parties and candidates during elections.
- The MCC comes into force immediately on the announcement of the election schedule by the commission and remains in force till the end of the electoral process.
