The Election Commission has directed allocation of space for roadside hoardings equally to all the political parties, as against the present trend of most of the space occupied by the ruling party.
In a setback to the YSRCP, the municipal, revenue officers and police, who have been giving opportunity to set up hoardings in favor of the ruling party, now with the directives of the EC must give equal opportunity to the opposition parties as well.
CEO Mukesh Kumar Meena directed the officials to allocate the hoardings next to national and main highways to all political parties on an equal basis. He advised not to give any permission for new hoardings. He also directed not to allow political hoardings in government and commercial places in Andhra Pradesh.
He spoke to the election officers of all the districts through video conference from the state secretariat about the implementation of the election code across the state. In the context of the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Elections, the District Election Officers have been advised to be very vigilant regarding the display of political advertisements, posters, hoardings and banners and not to allow political campaigning contrary to the guidelines of the Election Commission.
It has been clarified that there is no permission for wall paints on private buildings and the existing ones should be removed immediately. With the permission of the government, the existing large hoardings and cutouts on private buildings should be checked once for safety and structural stability, and even if there is no rigidity in the structure, advertisements should not be allowed.
Meena said that strict measures should be taken to control the smuggling of liquor and goods affecting voters from bordering states. It is stated that surveillance should be increased through webcasting where there are permanent check posts in the border areas. Meena said that the distribution of gifts like cash and gifts to employees and voters should be considered seriously. It was directed to resolve the complaints received through C-Whistle within the stipulated time.
