BANGALORE: The Election Commission has requested the media to allow it to conduct free and fair elections. Media must stop publishing/broadcasting items that can influence voters.
“Media should neither report campaigns nor discuss or analyze political build-ups which could create a bent of mind for the voters. We want the voters to take decisions freely. Hence, all campaigns have been stopped from 5pm,” chief electoral officer, Karnataka, Anil Kumar Jha said on Friday.
Deputy commissioners, police superintendents and district election officers have been told to keep an eye on political parties and media, enforce the code of conduct, and take action if necessary.
Paid holiday on Sunday
The Election Commission has declared May 5 as a paid holiday for all state government departments and emergency services, including utilities and health department. “The labour department has sent out notifications to disseminate information among employees. Sunday will be a paid holiday for those on polling duty. Emergency services should manage their work and ensure their employees are able to cast their votes, the CEO said.
As per the Election Commission’s guidelines, the CEO has taken an initiative to allow drivers and conductors to cast postal ballots. Many such ballots have been accepted.
3,200 KSRTC buses for poll duty
BANGALORE Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is providing around 3,200 buses for election duty on Saturday and Sunday. The Corporation has taken steps to prevent any major disruption in its regular services due to the non-availability of some buses. “KSRTC has withdrawn only double schedules operating on the same routes and withdrawn one or two buses in each route. However, the public has been requested to cooperate in case of any inconvenience,” said a KSRTC release.