With the pandemic restricting movement and the number of physical meetings and rallies meant for Bihar polls, the Election Commission (EC) on Friday increased the broadcast time allotted to recognised political parties on Doordarshan and All India Radio to aid campaigning. Each recognised national and regional party will be given at least 90 minutes of airtime. “A base time of 90 minutes will be given to each national party and recognised state party of Bihar uniformly on the regional kendras of Doordarshan network and All India Radio network in Bihar,” the commission said. However, no party will be given more than 30 minutes in a single broadcast session. And any additional time (beyond the basic 90 minutes) will be given to a party based on its performance in the last Assembly election in 2015, the EC said in a press statement. The period of broadcast will be between the last date of filing nominations and two days before the date of polling in Bihar. The state will go to polls in three phases on October 28, November 3 and November 7. Counting of votes will take place on November 10. “The Prasar Bharati Corporation in consultation with the Commission will decide the actual date and time for broadcast and telecast. This will be subject to the broad technical constraints governing the actual time of transmission available with the Doordarshan and All India Radio,” the poll panel said. The parties will be required to submit transcripts and recordings in advance. “In addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will organise a maximum of four panel discussions and/or debates on the Kendra/Station of Doordarshan/ All India Radio. Each eligible party can nominate one representative to such a programme,” the commission said. - With inputs from PTI
