Loksatta, CPI Protest Curbs On Election Campaigning

The Loksatta Party and the CPI on Friday charged election officials at the constituency level with creating hurdles for their legitimate political campaigning by strangely interpreting the Model Code of Conduct.

The 2 parties are planning to lead an all-party delegation to the Chief Electoral Officer tomorrow to request him to remove all such unwarranted hurdles.

Addressing a meeting held at the Loksatta Party headquarters, State party President Katari Srinivasa Rao pointed out that traditional parties had been deploying money and liquor on a large scale, even according to official data.

Liquor sales, which doubled in February compared to January, were expected to treble in March, he said. Money was being transferred online.

Against such a backdrop, parties which undertook campaigning without distributing money and liquor were subjected to severe hardship because of restrictions. Constituency-level officials were removing authorized hoardings, posters and party flags, and seizing vehicles. The parties were being asked to take approval from the District Maintenance Cell for even posters and hoardings. And the parties had to run around three or four police stations for using microphones and vehicles.

CPI State Secretary K. Ramakrishna recalled that the Central Election Commissioner himself had disclosed that one Lok Sabha candidate is prepared to spend Rs. 100 crores, and another Rs. 35 crores, and reiterated that instead of preventing distribution of money and liquor, officials were obstructing legitimate campaigning. (INN)