The Election Commission of India (EC) on Tuesday warned the Samajwadi Party (SP) against violating Covid norms after it was found guilty for an unregulated gathering of around 4,000 ticket seekers at its Lucknow headquarters last week.

In its notice the EC said that only a warning was being given as this was the first violation by the party in these polls. So far, no other party has been pulled up on grounds of gatherings bereft of social distancing in upcoming polls to five states. The station house officer of the local

police station has been suspended for failing to control the crowd.

The party had said that rules were being followed to manage the crowd, yet the state police has filed a case against unknown Samajwadi Party activists.

In Punjab, the Election Commission transferred two deputy commissioners-cum-district election officers, seven inspectors general of police, and eight senior superintendents of police in a routine move to ensure there is no conflict of interest on officers in supervising the polls.