Source-This post on Rules regarding star campaigner has been created based on the article “What are rules around star campaigners?” published in “The Hindu” on 23 April 2024.
Why in the news?
Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was recently appointed as a ‘star campaigner’ by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for its campaign in Gujarat.
About Star campaigners
Description-A star campaigner is a celebrity vote seeker in an election for a party. This person can be anyone, a politician or even a film star. However, as per the RP Act,1951, these star campaigners have to be members of the political parties that appoint them.
Legal provisions-
1) Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RP Act) provides for law relating to expenditure incurred by ‘leaders of a political party.
2) As per the Act, a recognised political party (national or State) can appoint a maximum of 40-star campaigners, whereas a registered unrecognised political party can appoint up to 20.
3) These names must be shared with the Election Commission (EC) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the States within 7 days from the announcement of election dates.
Benefits enjoyed by the political parties-
1) The RP Act states that money spent by “leaders of a political party or star campaigner” for travelling, whether by air or other means, to campaign for their party, doesn’t get included as part of a candidate’s election expenses for that party.
However, this is applicable only if the star campaigners limit themselves to general campaigning for the party.
What are the issues with the star campaigners?
1) The star campaigners of all parties have been guilty of using inappropriate and abusive words against leaders of other political parties.
2) They have appealed to caste/communal feelings of electors and made allegations without evidences.
3) The Election Commission of India does not have power to revoke the status of star campaigners.
4) The reported expenses of star campaigners are often much lower than what was actually spent because of inaccurate assessment of the expenses for the rallies or meetings of these star campaigners.
What should be the way forward?
1) The EC must be empowered to revoke the ‘star campaigner’ status of a leader, in case of any serious violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
2) The evaluation and division of expenses for rallies or meetings where star campaigners campaign for specific candidates should be made more robust.
Read more-Model Code of Conduct
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