Kohima, Feb. 26: The voter is still king, but political parties don’t seem to be mollycoddling him as they did before. At least not when the hawk-eyed Election Commission is watching.

Congress workers from districts other than Kohima will be denied an all-expenses-paid trip to the capital town tomorrow for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s rally, an event that in normal circumstances would have entailed spending a few lakh rupees only on transporting people from the hinterland.

The official explanation is that the party cannot afford to splurge on a single rally and risk violating the electoral code of conduct. It is not known whether the extra carefulness has anything to do with the embarrassment in Shillong last week when election officials found Rs 23.8 lakh in a Congress member’s hotel room and Margaret Alva was forced to give an explanation on what the money was meant for.

A Congress leader from Kohima district said it was “troublesome” mobilising crowds from every part of the state for a rally. “We have to transport people to and from various locations, pay them travelling allowance and arrange for food and lodging, all of which is quite troublesome.”

State party chief Hokheto Sumi said around 10,000 people from Kohima district were expected at the Prime Minister’s rally. “Congress volunteers and supporters from Kohima district will be transported to the venue of the rally by morning. Our seven election candidates from the district will also be there.”

Singh is scheduled to arrive in Kohima aboard a special aircraft at 11am. He will leave for Shillong immediately after the rally at the local playground.

Intelligence agencies, including the Special Branch of the police, have come up with a list of security-related dos and don’ts. Special passes have been issued to journalists and top officials. For others who attend the rally, there is a ban on carrying mobiles, cameras and other electronic gadgets.

Railway minister Lalu Prasad will be the next high-profile visitor to Nagaland. He will campaign for the Rashtriya Janata Dal at the Dimapur District Sports Stadium on Thursday. The party has fielded 25 candidates for the March 5 elections.

Sources in the state unit of the RJD said the party would hand a memorandum to the railway minister, seeking separate railway coaches for passengers travelling from Nagaland. Just as well for a party that aspires to win 10 seats in the 60-member Assembly.