E-Paper
Delhi Assembly Elections 2020: 3 requests to verify ads before poll body
Delhi Assembly Elections 2020 :Out of the 3 certification requests, two are from the BJP while one is from the Aam Admi Party. The committee has also sent back one of the ad requests by the BJP for modification.
The Delhi chief electoral officer (CEO) has so far got only three requests to certify electronic or social media advertisements by political parties ahead of the February 8 Assembly elections.
After the model code of conduct coming into force on January 6, political advertisements by candidates or political parties have to be certified by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).
“We have got three certification requests so far. Of these, two are from the Bharatiya Janata Party while one is from the Aam Admi Party (AAP). While the AAP has requested for an audio advertisement to be run at a public rally, the BJP has submitted applications for audio-visual ads to be broadcast at various electronic media platforms,” said a senior official from the CEO office.
He added, one of the advertisement requests by the BJP has been sent back for modification. “We have asked them to delete some portions of the content, which do not conform to the MCC rules and re-submit the content,” the officer said.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the committee had its hands full a week after the election dates were announced. It had then received over 15 requests in a little over a week, all of which were from the BJP.
According to committee officials, since the Lok Sabha elections were on a much bigger scale and in multiple phases, national political parties based in Delhi had to get all their material – audio or visual — approved from the CEO office and hence the higher number of requests.
“This election we are expecting more requests to pour in from next week onwards once the parties are done with selection of candidates and start intensifying their campaigns,” said another senior electoral officer.
According to officials, once approved, all electronic ads are certified to be posted on social media platforms as well. While political parties have to apply directly to the CEO’s office, individual candidates can get their advertisements certified by the district election officers (DEOs). The MCMC has 24 hours to dispose of the request or give its approval for public viewing. Any content released without certification is illegal.
Meanwhile, the CEO’s office has received two complaints of violation of the model code of conduct against political parties. “One of the complaints pertains to posters of the Delhi chief minister, who is also a political leader, still not being removed from unauthorised sites for which we have sought a report from the civic bodies, which are responsible for removing illegal hoardings and posters. Also, we have asked the city government’s IT department to remove any pictures of political leaders or references to them as such on department websites that can influence voters,” the officer added.
