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PRESS NOTE
Subject: General Election to the State Legislative Assemblies of Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana, 2005 - Allotment of Broadcast/Telecast time to Political Parties - regarding.
At the time of General Elections to the Lok Sabha in February, 1998 a new initiative for state funding of recognised political parties through free use of the state owned Television and Radio was introduced under directions of the Commission vide its Order, dated 16th January, 1998.
The said scheme was subsequently extended in all State Assembly Elections held after 1998 and General Elections to the Lok Sabha 1999 and 2004 and including General Elections to Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra held recently.
With the amendments to the Representation of People Act, 1951 vide "Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003" and the rules notified thereunder, equitable time sharing for campaigning by recognized political parties on electronic media now has statutory basis. In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of the Explanation below section 39A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, the Central Government has notified all such broadcasting media which are owned or controlled or financed wholly or substantially by funds provided to them by the Central Government as the electronic media for the purposes of that section. Therefore, the Commission has decided to extend the said scheme of equitable time sharing on electronic media through Prasar Bharati Corporation to the ensuing General Election to the State Legislative Assemblies of Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana, 2005.
The facilities of use of broadcast time and telecast time will be available only to National Parties and Recognised State Parties in the States of Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana, 2005.
THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE AS FOLLOW:
1. The facilities will be available from the Regional Kendra of the All India Radio and Doordarshan and in the headquarters of Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana, 2005 and relayed by other stations within these States.
2. A base time of 45 minutes will be given to each National Party and Recognised State Party (recognised in these States) uniformly on the Regional Kendra of Doordarshan network and All India Radio network in the State of Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana.
3. The National and the State Parties will be treated at par for the Assembly elections.
4. The additional time to be allotted to the parties has been decided on the basis of the poll performance of the parties in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections from the States of Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana.
5. In a single session of broadcast no party will be allocated more than 15 minutes.
6. The period of broadcast and telecast will be between the last date of filling the nominations and will end two days before the date of poll in the States of Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana. However, there will be no telecast or broadcast during the 48 hours preceding the close of polls as per specific provisions of Representation of the People Act, 1951.
7. 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.
8. The guidelines prescribed by the Commission for telecast and broadcast will be strictly followed. The parties will be required to submit transcripts and recording in advance. The parties can get this recorded at their own cost in studios, which meet the technical standards prescribed by the Prasar Bharati Corporation or at the Doordarshan/All India Radio Kendras. They can, in the alternative, have these recorded in the studios of Doordarshan and All India Radio by advance requests. In such cases, the recordings may be done at the State Capital and at timings indicated by Doordarshan/All India Radio in advance.
9. In addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will organise a maximum of two 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.
10. The Election Commission of India will approve the names of coordinators for such panel discussions and debates in consultations with the Prasar Bharati Corporation.
11. Time Vouchers will be available in the denomination of 5 minutes each and the parties will be free to combine them suitably. The allotment of time to different political parties is given in a statement enclosed herewith.
Election Commission of India
New Delhi, Pausa 20, 1926
January 10, 2005
RM/AMA
GENERAL ELECTION TO THE STATE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES OF BIHAR, HARYANA AND JHARKHAND, 2005.
Time available to National/State Parries on Regional Kendras/State Capital Kendras of Doordarshan/All India Radio
Sl. No.
Name of State
Name of National/ State Party
Total time allotted in minutes for
No. of Time Vouchers (5 minutes each) issued for
Broadcast
Telecast
Broadcast
Telecast
1.
BIHAR
BSP
60
60
12
12
BJP
115
155
23
23
CPI
60
60
12
12
CPI(M)
50
50
10
10
INC
80
80
16
16
NCP
50
50
10
10
JMM
45
45
09
09
RJD
220
220
44
44
JD(U)
125
125
25
25
Total
805
805
161
161
2
HARYANA BSP
65
65
13
13
BJP
90
90
18
18
CPI
45
45
09
09
CPI(M)
45
45
09
09
INC
200
200
40
40
NCP
45
45
09
09
INLD
140
140
28
28
Total
630
630
126
126
3.
JHARKHAND
BSP
55
55
11
11
BJP
185
185
37
37
CPI
65
65
13
13
CPI(M)
50
50
10
10
INC
145
145
29
29
NCP
45
45
09
09
JMM
125
125
25
25
RJD
80
80
16
16
JD(U)
60
60
12
12
Total
810
810
162
162
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