Political ads on buses to get legal tag

Photos of politicians with folded hands, seeking your vote could soon become a common sight behind autorickshaws and buses as the Delhi government’s transport department is preparing to lift a ban on political ads on public transport vehicles.

Public transport buses, autorickshaws and taxis may become mediums of political ads, whenever the next elections are held in the city in 2017. The civic polls in early next year are likely to be the first testing ground for the mobile poster wars. The new platform may also be used if a by-poll is held for the 21 Assembly seats whose MLAs are facing a disqualification plea in the EC for holding an office-of-profit. The State Transport Authority Board is likely approve to in its next meeting the use of public transport vehicles for political ads.

“After the approval, a notification shall be issued,” said a transport department official. The use of autorickshaws for political posters was first introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the 2013. The posters on autorickshaws helped the new party reach every nook and corner of the city and develop a mood for change against the then Congress government which had been in seat of power for 15 years.

With active support of major autorickshaw unions in the city, the AAP monopolised this form of political campaign till 2014 Lok Sabha polls when the BJP aggressively used this medium. In the 2015 Assembly polls, all the three major players – AAP, BJP and Congress – used autorickshaw ads to reach out to voters.

“The ads on public transport were banned by the transport after some complaints related to unauthorised use of photos of rival leaders were received in the Election Commission,” said an official.

A set of guidelines were issues soon thereafter to regulate the content of ads put up on public transport vehicles. Inflammatory or derogatory posters, surrogate ads on liquor and tobacco products, misleading or magical medical remedies and political posters were struck off the list of permissible content that could be displayed on public transport vehicles.

“However, a rethink on political ads was necessitated by representations received from parties and autorickshaw unions who saw in them an opportunity to earn extra money,” said an official.