EC orders code for TV channels covering polls

NEW DELHI, Jan 12: In a bid to ensure that all candidates get their fair share of television coverage, the Election Commission has directed ...

NEW DELHI, Jan 12: In a bid to ensure that all candidates get their fair share of television coverage, the Election Commission has directed private TV channels not to project any one candidate in a constituency.

While it was not necessary to cover every single candidate in a constituency, at least the more important candidates should be covered in any report on the constituency, the EC has ruled.

“By balanced and fair it is meant that among major political parties, no one political party should be given substantially more coverage than others,” the Commission said in a long list of “do’s and dont’s” for the electronic media.

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The Election Commission’s “code of conduct” for the electronic media in the run-up to the general elections includes a ban on campaigning up to 48 hours before polling. The code for television broadcasts would apply uniformly to all private television channels and cable TV networks.

Any violation of the 48-hour deadline would be a punishable offence inviting imprisonment upto two years or a fine or both, Deputy Election Commissioner Subas Pani said.