New Delhi, Apr.19: As political parties gear up for the crucial Karnataka Assembly election on May 10, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its star campaigners for the upcoming polls.
The list of campaigners includes the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, among others.
And also Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) star campaigners in the last few years. The BJP has significantly increased his poll rallies after he was made the chief minister. CM Yogi Adityanath is popular for his strict actions against mafias and criminals. With Asad Ahmed and Ghulam’s encounter on Thursday, CM Adityanath’s video featuring ‘Mitti Me Mila Denge’ remark has gone viral on social media. He was hailed on social media for fulfilling his promise of eliminating the wanted criminals. The BJP leaders have been watching these developments closely and according to reports, the party’s Karnataka unit has demanded multiple poll rallies of CM Yogi Adityanath in the state.
The BJP has so far named 222 candidates for the May 10 polls for the 224-member assembly. The last date for filing nominations is April 20.
The southern state goes to the polls in a single phase on May 10. The counting of votes will be done on May 13.
A celebrity vote seeker in a party election is referred to as a star campaigner. This person could be a politician or even a movie star. There is no law that says who can or cannot be a star campaigner.
The star campaigners are nominated by the relevant political parties, which specify their constituencies and the duration of their status.
Since political parties appoint star campaigners, the Election Commission has issued guidelines called the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to govern their election campaigns.
While a recognised party, as declared by the Election Commission, can nominate up to 40 star campaigners, an unrecognised political party can nominate a maximum of 20 star campaigners.
It has a lot to do with election spending. The Election Commission keeps track of individual candidates’ campaign expenditures. In most states, each candidate spends Rs 70 lakh in one constituency.
The star campaigner’s electioneering expenditure is not added to a candidate’s poll expenditure, giving him/her more leeway. These costs will be borne by political parties, according to the Representation of the People Act.
According to MCC guidelines, when a prime minister or a former prime minister is a star campaigner, the government will bear the cost of security, including bullet-proof vehicles, and it will not be added to the party’s or individual candidate’s election expenses.
If another campaigner travels with the prime minister or a former minister, the individual candidate must bear 50 per cent of the security costs.
