New Delhi, March 23 – The Election Commission of India has announced the allocation of digital time vouchers to recognized national and state political parties, enabling them to avail free broadcast and telecast time on Doordarshan and All India Radio for the upcoming Assembly elections.
This move has been undertaken under Section 39A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, with the Commission issuing detailed directions for the allocation of airtime during the General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
According to the Commission, digital time vouchers have been distributed through its IT platform to all recognized national and state political parties in the five poll-bound states and a Union Territory for the upcoming Assembly elections.
The broadcast and telecast window will run from the date of publication of the list of contesting candidates in each phase until two days before the polling date in the respective regions, the ECI said.
Officials said that the actual scheduling of broadcast slots will be finalized in advance through a draw of lots at the State or Union Territory level. The process will take place in the presence of authorized representatives of political parties as well as officials from the office of the concerned Chief Electoral Officer.
Under the scheme, the poll body said that each party will be provided a base allocation of 45 minutes of free airtime on both Doordarshan and All India Radio. This time will be uniformly distributed across the regional networks within the respective State or Union Territory.
In addition to the base allocation, parties will be granted extra airtime based on their performance in the previous Assembly elections in the concerned State or Union Territory.
The Commission has also laid down clear guidelines for content submission. Political parties must submit transcripts and recordings in advance, ensuring compliance with prescribed norms.
Recordings are required to be produced either in studios that meet technical standards set by Prasar Bharati or at designated Doordarshan and AIR Kendras.
Apart from individual party broadcasts, Prasar Bharati will also organize up to two panel discussions or debates to be aired on Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Each eligible political party will be allowed to nominate one representative for these programmes, which will be moderated by an approved coordinator.