T’puram: Election Commission of India (ECI), under Section 39A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has issued directions for allotment of broadcast and telecast time to national and state political parties on Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) for the upcoming assembly election. Accordingly, digital time vouchers have been issued through the IT platform to all the recognized national and state political parties across five poll-bound states/UT — including Kerala. The broadcast/telecast period will be scheduled between the date of publication of the list of contesting candidates in each phase and two days before the date of poll in the poll-bound states/UT. The actual broadcast/telecast will be scheduled in advance through a draw of lots at the state/UT level in the presence of authorized representatives of the political parties and officials from the office of the respective state/UT chief electoral officer. Under the scheme, free broadcasting and telecasting facilities of at least 45 minutes have been allotted for each party on both DD and AIR. Additional time has been allotted to political parties based on their poll performance in previous assembly elections in the respective states/UT. Political parties are to submit transcripts and recordings in advance, adhering to the relevant guidelines.
