Prohibition of public meetings before the date of poll.

(1) No person shall,- (a) convene, hold, attend, join or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or (b) display to the public any election matter by means of cinematography, television or other similar apparatus; or (c) propagate any election matter to the public by holding, or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours prior to the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll in the case of Mandal Praja Parishads and Zilla Praja Parishads and forty-four hours prior to the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll in the case of Gram Panchayats. (2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both. (3) In this section, the expression ―election matter‖ means any matter intended or calculated to influence or affect the result of election.