EC issues instructions over poll publicity

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, Janaury 8

Aiming to control rampant use of private property by candidates and their supporters for campaigning, the Election Commission has issued instructions to the candidates to submit no objection certification (NOC) obtained from the property owner to district election officials.

The commission said there was no issue if any person installed a hoarding of any political party or leader on his private property and no advertisement fee would be taken from the building owner, but the cost of that hording would be added to the candidate’s expenditure list.

At present, the cost of hoardings and boards would be added to party’s expenditure and once the candidate files the nomination papers, the cost would be added to his/her expenditure.

The Election Commission had given 24 hours to the political parties for removing publicity material in the city, which has ended.

Now, if illegal hoardings and boards are found installed in the city then action would be initiated against the candidate.

Political leaders had installed hoardings, posters and boards at chowks, important places and roads in the city but after the model code of conduct came into force, the MCB, on the instructions of the Election Commission, had started removing them from public property, offices and public places in the city.

Following this, workers of various parties started installing hoardings and boards on private buildings.

The commission has stated that the candidates should install hoardings and boards on private buildings but the building owner should not have any objection to it.

Ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections, the MCB’s tehazbari wing came up with a proposal to give permission to install boards by paying advertisement fee in the F&CC meeting held on December 20, 2016.

The MCB proposed to take fee from Rs 2,000-4,000 per 100 sq cm in various zones in the city, but later, the F&CC members dropped this proposal.

As per MCB figures, in the last four-five days, its teams had removed 1,100 posters, around 60 banners, around 150 party stickers and more than 100 hoardings.