Star campaigner

More information:

As the Congress leader Kamal Nath remarked on a woman candidate in Madhya Pradesh Assembly bypolls the Election Commission revoked his star campaigner status recently.
However, the Supreme Court stayed the Election Commission’s order observing that the poll body “has no power” to decide who is a star campaigner.

Who is a star campaigner?

A star campaigner is a celebrity vote seeker in an election for a party.
This person can be a politician or even a film star.
There is no law governing who can or cannot be made a star campaigner.
They are nominated by the concerned political parties specifying their constituencies and duration of the status.
Election Commission has issued guidelines on the Model Code of Conduct regulating poll campaigns by them.
A ‘recognized’ party declared as such by the Election Commission can nominate a maximum of 40 star campaigners.
An unrecognized political party can nominate a maximum of 20 star campaigners.
Expenditure incurred on electioneering by the star campaigner is not added to a candidate’s poll expenditure giving him/her more leeway.
According to the ROPA, 1951, these expenses will be borne by the political parties.
If she/he shares the stage with a candidate, the entire campaign cost except expenditure incurred on travelling will be added to the candidate’s election expenses.
The MCC guidelines say when a prime minister or a former prime minister is star campaigner, the expenditure incurred on security including on the bullet-proof vehicles will be borne by the government.