AMN /
The Election Commission of India has decided to double the broadcast time allotted to each National Party and recognized State Party on Doordarshan and All India Radio in poll bound States of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, 2021. The Commission took the decision in consultation with Prasar Bharti Corporation considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and enhanced relevance of non-contact based campaign.
The Commission in its order has said that the broadcast time will be available only to the National Parties and recognised State Parties. A base time of 90 minutes will be given to the political parties uniformly on the regional Kendras of Doordarshan and All India Radio networks. However, in a single session of broadcast no party will be allocated more than 30 minutes.
The Commission said that the period of broadcast and telecast will be between the date of publication of list of contesting candidates for the elections and two days before the date of polls. The Poll Panel has said that the parties will be required to submit transcript and recording in advance. The telecasts and broadcasts will not permit criticism of other countries, attack on religions or communities and anything obscene or defamatory or incitement of violence.