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SECRETARIAT OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
fC:lCOl1~ Gi ~, 31QITcP ~, ~ R\(>'<'i~- 1 10001
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi-l 10001

No. 437/6/INST/ECI/FUNCT/MCC/2024 (Vehicles) Dated: 2 nd January, 2024

(i) The Chief Secretaries

of all States and Union Te rritori es.

(i i) The Chief Electora l Office rs

of all States and Union Te rrito ri es.

Subject: -Model Code of Conduct - Instruction- Use of vehicles during elections - Regarding.

Reference: Commission's instructions:

(i) No. 437/6/94/MCS-Vol V, dated 20. 10.1994
(ii) No. 437/6/98-PLN-III, dated 18.08. 1999
(i ii) No. 4/2001/J.S.II, dated 30.03 .2001
(iv) No. 4/2001/JS-II, dated 08.05.2001
(v) No. 437/6/2006-PLN-III, dated 23.11.2007
(vi) No. 437/6/2008/CC&BE, dated 19. 10.2008
(vii) No. 437/6/1/2008-CC&B E, dated 24.10.2008
(vii i) No. 437/6/INST/2008-CC&BE, dated 31.10.2008
(ix) No. 437 /6/INST/2008-CC& BE, dated28.03.2009
(x) No. 437/6/INST/2008-CC&BE, dated09.04.2009
(xi) No. 437/6/INST/2010-CC&BE, dated 05. 10.2010
(xii) No. 464/INST/2011-EPS, dated 23.03 .2011
(xiii) No. 464/INST/2011-EPS, dated 23.03.2011
(xiv) No. 464/INST/2011-EPS, dated 23 .03 .2011, and
(xv) No. 464/INST/2011-EPS, dated 23 .03 .2011

Madam/Sir,

The Commission has, in the past, issued various instructions from time to time regarding

applicabi lity of Model Code of Condu ct on preventi on of misuse of vehicles during elections. For

convenience of all concerned, t hese instructions have now been consolidated in supe rsession of all the

in stru cti ons listed above, fo r obse rvance during t he period when th e Model Code of Conduct is in force.

These instructions regard ing restrictions on misuse of vehicles during elections have been issued under

Articl e 324 of the Constitution and all othe r powers enabl ing the Commission in this behalf.

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·,

I. Ban on use of official vehicles

{1} Subject to exceptions mentioned herein, there sha ll be a total and absolute ban on the use of

official vehicles fo r campaigning, electioneerin g or election related travel during elections.

Such vehicles include helicopters, aircrafts, cars, jeeps, automobiles, goods carriers, e-vehicles

or e-rickshaws, two wheelers, boats, hovercrafts, etc., except as regulated by the

Commission's order on the subj ect, owned or hired or controlled by the Central and State

Governments, Central Public Secto r Organizat ions, Public Sector Undertakings and Joint

Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Governments, Local Authorities and Local

Bodies, Marketing Boards {by whatever name known}, Cooperative Societies, Autonomous

District Councils or any othe r body in which publ ic funds, howsoever small a portion of the

total, are invested. The functi ona ries of all the autonomous organizations viz. Chairman, Dy.

Chairman, President, Vice President, Co mm issioners etc. may be instructed to use the official

vehicle provided to them by t he State Government only for commuting between office and

residence and to attend any officia l meeting within the Head Quarters itself.

{2} The restrictions on the use of official vehicles for campaigning, electioneering or election

related travel are applicable in the case of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha and

the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha at the time of General Elections to the Lok Sabha and

also in the case of Speake r and Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly at the time

of General Election to any State Assembly irrespective of whether the Speaker and/or the

Deputy Speaker of the Legislat ive Assembly is a contesting candidate or not at the General

Election to the State Assembly.

(3) The District Administration shall keep a close watch to find out if any such official vehicle is

being used for campaign ing, electioneering or election related travel purpose. In such cases,

the District Magistrate shall, forthwith, requisition or cause to be requisitioned such vehicles,

after follow ing due procedure, for electi on wo rk, under Section 160 of the Representation of

the People Act, 1951 and such requisitioned vehicles shall not be released until the

completion of the process of elect ions.

{4} The ban on the use of official ve hicl es w ill equa lly apply to vehicles in or from any States not

going to the polls but whose offi cial vehicles are attempted to be used for campaign, either

openly or clandestinely, in any other State going to poll . The Chief Secretary of each

State/Union Territory or the Secretary to the Government of India in the concerned

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 Depa rtment or Ministry, as th e case may be, sha ll ensu re that there is no misuse of any such

vehicles. The offi ce rs under w hose charge such vehicles are entrusted wi ll be personally

responsible for any vio lati on . The use of such ve hicl es be longing to any of these authorities by

anyone, including Min ist ers of th e Central or a St at e Govern ment, even on payment basis, for

campaigning or on tou rs co nnected w ith elect ions, in the guise of, officia l wo rk in the ir

capacity as M inist ers is tota lly prohibit ed.

(S) The only exception fro m t he above prohib ition wi ll be t he Prime Minister and other political

personal it ies, who might, in view of extremist an d t errorist activities and threat to thei r lives,

requi re security of a high order an d w hose security requirements are governed by statutory

provisions made by the Pa rli ament or t he Stat e Legislatu.re in th is behalf. These restrictions

sha ll also not be applicab le in case of th e Hon'bl e President and Vice President of India,

Speake r and Deputy Speake r of Lok Sa bh a and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha and other

such dignitaries visiting the St at e from othe r St ates. It is clarified here that in the case of

Speaker and Deputy Speake r of Lok Sabha and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sa bha, t hese

restrictions will be appl ica ble at th e ti me of Ge neral Elections to t he Lok Sabha but not during

Legislative Assemb ly Electi ons. However, such exceptions shall not be avai lable in respect of

any M in isters of the Un ion or any Stat e Governm ent.

II. Prevention of misuse of vehicles during period of Electioneering

(1) It has been experienced that during t he period of electioneering private vehicles are used

by t he candidates, th ei r agents and pa rty lea ders and supporters for carting the supporters

of a candidate with in the co nstitu ency an d on many occasions anti-socia l elements with

muscle power are openly pa raded t o inst ill a se nse of fear in the minds of the electorate, so

that t hey eithe r vote in favo ur of parti cula r party/candidate or abstain from voting

altogether. These veh icles are also used so metim es to smuggle illicit arms and ammunition

with a view to creati ng dist urba nces duri ng elections. In order to curb such

undesirab le/illegal activities, th e District Ad ministration shall keep a close watch on t he

veh icles used by pe rsons acco mp anying t he cont esting candidates and their party's leaders

for any poss ible misch ief, incl udi ng crimi nal act ivities like carrying of illegal arms and

weapons. If any of t hese ve hicles, either of a party or a private owner, is found to be

involved in any such act or f or ca rtin g anti-social elements with a view to intimidating or

creati ng terror in the mind of th e electo rate, it shall be the duty of the local administration

to impound such vehicles and not to release th em till the process of elections is com pleted .

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 In addition, cri min al acti on aga in st the owner, t he occupant(s)and the ca ndidate/political

pa rty which is involved in such il legal acti vities shall also be t aken as per law.

(2) So as t o ensure free, fai r and peaceful electi ons, t he Distri ct Administrat ion shall launch

such drive for checking t he ve hicles immediate ly upon t he announce ment of t he elections

and sha ll continue t he dri ve t ill t he completi on of the process of elections.

(3) Cars/vehicles being used f or electio nee rin g purposes shall, under no ci rcumst ances, be

allowed t o move in co nvoys of more than te n vehicles, excluding th e secu rity vehicles. All

bigge r convoys sha ll be broken up, even if th ey are ca rrying any ministe r of Central or State

Govt. This shall, however, be subj ect to any security instructions issued in respect of any

such individual. Such bro ken up convoys must have a distance of at least 100 meters

between the m.

(4) If any person moves in a co nvoy of veh icles exceeding the limits prescribed above, in spite

of the convoy having bee n bro ken, it shall be th e duty of the local adm inistration to ensure

that such vehicles are not allowed t o be used by f louting the Commission's directions t ill

the process of electi on is co mp leted .

(5) In case of Video - Va ns et c. to be used by a politi ca l party for ca mpaign across the states,

before any perm ission to use Vi deo-Va ns f or ca mpaign is given, it should be ensured by

Chief Electora l Offi cer t hat such use of vehicl e is in acco rda nce with the Motor Veh icle Act .

Attention in this context is invit ed to t he ju dgment s dat ed 23.06.2006 and 14.02.2007 of

the Allahabad High Court in w rit petitio n No. 3648 (MB) of 2006.

(6) From the date of notifi cati on of th e electi on till th e co mpletion of election process in any

constit uency, the district admi nistrati on shall keep a close watch on the veh icles used by

t he contesting cand idates, pe rso ns acco mp anying the cont esting candidates and other

party leaders and ens ure th at th e Co mmissio n's in structi ons are not abused.

(7) The contesti ng cand idat es be as ked t o get th e det ails of all the vehicles that t hey are using

in t he election campaign lodge d w ith th e District Election Officer or such othe r officer(s)as

may be specifically aut hori zed by th e Distri ct El ection Officer in this beha lf bef ore the

campaigni ng com m ences. Any fu rth er deployment of any additional veh icles can take place

only after noti ce to th is effect is give n by t he ca ndidate or his agent we ll before t he actua l

deployment of the ve hicl es . W hil e con veyi ng t he details of the vehicles that are being

deployed for electi on campaign th e deta ils of th e areas, tehsil(s) in which the veh icle wou ld

ope rate, shou ld also be co nveyed.

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 (8) The details so obt ai ned shoul d be con veyed by Dist rict Election Officer to the Election

Expend itu re Observers. Th e veh icl es employed fo r elect ion campaign as pe r intimation

given by the candidat es or t heir electi on agents t o the Distri ct Admi nistration should not be

requ isitioned by t he ad ministrat ion. Any vehi cle t hat has not been registered fo r

campaign ing w ith the district ad ministrat ion if found being used for campaign ing, sha ll be

deemed to be unauth orized ca mpa igning f or t he candidate and may attract penal

provisions of Chapte r IX A of t he Ind ia n Pe nal Code and shall the refore be immediately

taken out of t he ca mpaigni ng exercise.

(9) A cycle rickshaw is also a vehi cl e as defined in Section 160 of Rep resentation of Peop le Act,

1951, which may be used fo r elect ion ca mpa ign. If it is be ing used, then a candidate has to

accou nt for its expenditure in his acco unt of election expenses. To ensure t his, the

candidate should give det ails of such rickshaws be ing used for his election campaign and, if

the rickshaw does not have any mu nicipa l registration/pe rmit for its identification, t he

rickshaw driver may be given a permit in his persona l name by the Returning Officer wh ich

the rickshaw drive r shou ld carryo n his perso n whi le using that rickshaw for ca mpa ign

purposes. However, ri ckshaws being used for normal purposes of carrying passengers in

ordinary course etc. may be exe mpted, if t hey are displayi ng only one poster showing the

na me or party symbo l of a ca ndi dat e, pres um ing t hey are doing so on their own free will.

(10) If any political party( ies) havin g elect oral alliance or seat sharing, who apply(ies) with fu ll

detail the reof, for the disp lay on th eir cam paign vehicles of the flags of such pa rties with

whom they are havi ng such alli ance/seat sharin g, they may be given such permission. The

use of flags on the vehicles w ill howeve r be subject to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles

Act .

III. Use of Aircraft / Helicopter by Political Parties

(1) During t he electi on process t here in a co mplet e ban on use of aircraft by pol itical

functiona ries incl uding Chief Min iste r an d Minist ers. The only exemption is fo r the Prime

Minister in office.

(2) Other political functio naries incl udi ng Chief M inist ers may, if required, hi re private aircrafts

and use them f or the ir pol it ical ca mpa ign and oth er election related act ivit ies.

(3) Fu ll records of all non-schedu led f light s through privately owned aircrafts should be maintained

by the appropriate authorit ies as requ ired und er law and relevant rules . Deta ils like

passenge r manifests, exact t im es of depart ure and arrival of aircrafts at various places

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 need to be maintained . Commission may seek information on these details to verify

complaints which are received from time to time.

(4) The Political Functiona ri es/Political pa rti es using helicopt ers/aircraft, for election campaign

and other purposes should intimate three days in advance, regarding their itinerary and the

deta ils of persons who wil l travel and th e materia ls that wi ll be carried in the

helicopter/aircrafts. The District Adm inistration/D istrict Election officers should maintain a

log book and enter the details of t he helicopters/aircraft which landed and took off in their

Districts and the purpose for w hich they landed and the persons who were in the said

aircraft/helicopter and also indicate whether th e aircraft/helicopter had taken permission

for landing. The District Election officers shall send daily report about the arrival and

departure of such helicopters/ai rcrafts to th e Chief Electoral Officer, concerned and endorse

a copy to the Commission .

(S) No leader of a political pa rty shall use private fixed-wing aircraft dnd helicopters for the

purposes of supervising and monitoring the polling and counting process on the days of

poll and counting as it will amount to interfere in the performance of the functions of the

Election Commission as most of the leaders of al l political parties have been categorized

under various security grading and if they move from constituency to constituency on

the days of polling and cou ntin g, adequat e secu rity precautions will have to be taken and

security covers provided to each of them. The Director General of Civil Aviation shall keep the

above directions of the Co mm ission in view and shall not permit the flights of private fixed-

wing aircraft and heli copters f or the movement of leaders of political parties for the

above purpose on the days of poll and counting, except with the pri or permission of the

Election Com mission in the case of any emergencies.

(6) A candidate who has been decla red as leade r by a Political Party for the purposes of

Explanation to Section 77{l), cannot not cons id ered to be a leader of his political party in his

own constituency within the meaning of Explanati on (l) to section 77(1), whatever may be

his standing in relation to other candidates of his party in the other constituencies. In his

own constituency{ies), he is a candidate first. Thu s, whatever expenditure he incurs on his

own travel within his constitu ency{ ies), on his travel whether by helicopter/aircraft or by any

other means of transport, the sa me has to be accounted for within his overall limit of

maximum expenditure prescribed fo r his constituency. When he goes out of his

constituency to the othe r constituency as a star campaigner, the expenditure on his travel

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 from his constituency to the othe r constituency would fall within the exempted category

under Explanation (1) to section 77(lL and so also his travel expenditure from the other

constituency to his own constituency when he comes back for his own campaign would be

so exempted. But once he reaches his constitu ency and travels within the said constituency,

his expenditure on such travel within his constitu ency would be liable to be accounted for by

him.

IV. Vehicle permit for district officer bearers of recognized political party

(1) If any political party appl ies for permi ssion for vehicles to be used by their district level office

bearers/leaders (other than sta r campaigners) fo r the ir visit to multiple Assembly

Constituencies within the District for electioneeri ng purposes, necessary permission should

be given by the DEO of t he District concerned.

(2) In such cases, the pe rmit shall be in the name of the person, while also mentioning the

registration No. of the vehicle . Th e expenditu re on th is vehicle shall be booked/distributed

in the election expenses of the party's cand idat e(s) of the district where they have visited .

Th is perm it should not be used for trave l in othe r districts.

(3) The permit should be issued ind icating the name of the political leader, the (regn .) No. of the

vehicle and also the peri od for wh ich issued. The pe rmit may be issued on a paper of a

colour different from those used for issuing permits to candidates and star campaigners, so

that it can be easi ly recognized. An attested copy of the permit shall be prominently

displayed on wind screen of the vehicle an d the original be kept by the person for checking

by police or any other autho rities. Th e su rveillance teams should also be informed in the

matter.

V. Use of Road Transport by Party Campaigners availing benefit to clause (r:I) of explanation given
under Section 77(1) ofthe RP Act, 1951

+) In case the mode of road transport is to be avai led by political parties availing the benefit of

clause (a) of exp lanation given under Sec. 77(1) of Representation of the People Act, 1951,

th e permit will be issued centrally by the Chief Electoral.officer irrespective of whether the

same vehicle is to be used by any leader for election campaigning throughout the State or

different vehicles are to be used by such party leaders in different areas. The permit will be

issued against the na me of th e person concerned who will display it prominently oli the

windscreen of the vehicle bein g used by him/her in any area. The perm its so issued by the

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 Chief electoral Officer will be of distinctly different colours from the permits to be issued by

the District Election Officers/Returning Officers for candidates.

2) If the vehicle so permitted in item (i) above is also occupied by any other person than the

leader referred to in item (iL in that case, the 50% expenditure of the same shall be booked

in the expenditu re of concerned party contesting candidate from that constituency.

The above instructions of the Co mmi ss ion shall be brought to notice of all concerned for

strict compliance .

Yours faithfully,

(NtXRE ORA N. BU OLlA)

SR. PRI ClPAL SECR~TARY