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Lok Sabha election 2019: Poll code pours cold water on hopes of aspirants
The general elections will be held across India in seven phases beginning April 11 and the counting of votes will take place on May 23.
The Election Commission’s announcement of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 schedule upset plans of many ticket aspirants in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri.
The general elections will be held across India in seven phases beginning April 11 and the counting of votes will take place on May 23.
In, what is seen as an informal way of staking claim to party tickets, many aspirants had spent lakhs on putting up flex boards, hoardings, banners and wall slogans. But, with the model code of conduct coming into immediate effect after the poll schedule was announced, the administration pulled down all poll advertisements, dealing a blow to the hopes of aspirants.
READ: How BJP’s ‘last-minute’ move won over disgruntled allies in Uttar Pradesh
“All canvassing material has been removed. There is a total ban on wall writing,” district magistrate Shailendra Singh said.
So, what did the aspirants lose, apart from not being able to publically stake a claim to a seat? In terms of money, each flex board costs between Rs 2500 to Rs 10,000; each hoarding costs anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.
Past two months had seen hectic political activity in Lakhimpur Kheri with boards, banners and wall writings springing up almost overnight. A neta, who had put up dozens of boards and banners across the district, lost lakhs with the implementation of the model code.
Read: All you need to know about Uttar Pradesh
While hoardings of the aspirants from the Bharatiya Janata Party came up in the past weeks, those of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were being propped up since the leaders of the two parties – Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati- sealed a poll deal.
Same was the case with the Congress, which recently announced the candidature of Jitin Prasada from Dhaurahra.
