Poll battle leaves many a mark on Delhi

Civic workers have to clear 1.9 million posters, defaced walls, nearly permanent digital posters — which could resurface on Saturday

While nearly 10 million people exercised their franchise on Wednesday, sealing the electoral fate of 698 candidates, the streets and walls of Delhi now bear the aftermath of a fierce electoral battle. The city is now littered with remnants of 1.9 million posters, defaced walls, and a new menace — digital posters — that are nearly impossible to peel away.

A defaced wall in Vinod Nagar on Tuesday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Civic workers said public spaces, from foot overbridges and subways to street signboards and market squares, have been left in disarray. They now face the daunting task of clearing up this mess before it resurfaces when results are declared on Saturday.

The most persistent issue for the hundreds of workers cleaning up the mess are thin-film digital posters, which have proved far more difficult to remove than traditional paper banners.

Resident welfare associations (RWAs) and civic groups argue that the common solution of covering them with paint only worsens the defacement rather than tackling it. Many are calling for a complete ban on such materials.

A Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official said that zonal teams have been working to clear campaign materials daily since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect.

“We have been removing hoardings, banners, and posters every day, but the sheer volume makes it challenging,” the official said.

According to an MCD action-taken report submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI), 1,882,829 publicity items were removed by February 3, the last day of campaigning. These included 211,895 hoardings, 1,029,942 posters and banners, 82,594 signage boards, and 558,398 flags.

The zonal distribution of these violations shows that the worst-affected areas included Civil Lines, Shahdara South, south Delhi, and west Delhi.

The menace of ‘digital posters’

The biggest problem this election season, however, is the on-ground popularity of a new menace – digital posters. A municipal official said that even though these so-called digital posters are far more expensive than conventional paper posters, they are being increasingly deployed by candidates.

“Traditional paper posters are cheaper — ₹10,000 can get you 5,000-6,000 small posters, including pasting costs. But a single large digital poster costs ₹350-400. Still, they are more durable,” a second MCD official explained.

Durability is the key reason behind their rise. Unlike regular posters, which can be torn down, digital posters use strong adhesives and cling to surfaces much like wall paint.

These posters are made of thin film comprising of paper and plastic, it comes with adhesive on one side and removed and applied on walls like a sticker. 

“Only parts of these posters come off when you try to scrape it off. Furthermore, removing them does damage to the walls. The only option is to paint over them,” the official said.

During spot checks, HT found such posters plastered across major roads, including Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Pusa Road, Rohini, Munirka, Ashram, and Vande Mataram Marg, with candidates from all parties using them.

As per election regulations, political publicity materials must be restricted to designated sites, unipoles, and authorised media. The Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property (DPDP) Act, 2007, criminalizes unauthorised posters and banners, with penalties including fines of up to ₹50,000 or jail time. However, the law has done little to curb violations, which surge exponentially during elections.

Despite repeated violations, MCD did not comment on whether any penalties had been imposed under the DPDP Act.

For Delhi, this isn’t a new problem. During elections held for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), the widespread defacement of public property became such a major flashpoint that the Delhi high court had to intervene and halt the declaration of results till candidates managed to clean up the damage incurred to public property.

RWAs and citizen groups are now demanding stricter enforcement.

Atul Goyal, president of United Residents Joint Action (URJA), a federation of RWAs, said digital posters have left central Delhi looking worse than ever. “You can see walls covered in haphazardly applied yellow, red, and black paint where these posters were once stuck. It’s a new level of defacement. The authorities are simply painting over faces and names rather than removing them,” he said, adding that areas such as Karol Bagh, Paschim Vihar, Rohini, and Peeragarhi have been worst affected.

Goyal argued that fines must be increased and cleanup costs should be charged directly to candidates. “Right now, the Delhi defacement law exists only on paper. Unless there’s strict action, this will happen every election,” he said.

The problem was equally prevalent in east Delhi and trans-Yamuna areas.

BS Vohra, president of the East Delhi RWAs Joint Front, said campaign posters covered every neighbourhood.

“ECI must get strict about these new posters which cause permanent defacement. Either ban these posters at the production level or make political parties and candidates responsible for cleanup within a fixed time frame,” he said.

“Winning or losing is a separate matter but what kind of example are our politicians setting?” Vohra said, adding that civic authorities appear hesitant to take action against politicians.

“Who will file FIRs against those who may soon be in power?” he asked.