The Election Commission on Tuesday let the Samajwadi Party off with a warning for violating COVID-19 guidelines in place for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections by having a gathering at the party office in Lucknow on January 14.
In its order, the EC said cases had already been filed in connection with the matter. Because this was the SP’s first violation since the elections were announced on January 8, the commission advised the party to be careful in future.
The EC had issued a notice to the party on January 15, to which the party replied the next day with a categorical denial. The SP said it had received 4,000 applications for tickets and potential candidates were interviewed in the office under COVID guidelines.
