The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday issued an order allotting national parties and recognised State parties in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry double the usual broadcast time on All-India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like it did for the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the EC said the pandemic had increased the importance of non-contact based campaigning, so it doubled the amount of airtime the parties are allotted on AIR and DD for the ongoing elections to the five Assemblies.
Started in 1998, the practice involves free use of state-owned media by national parties and recognised State parties in an equitable manner.
