KOCHI: Before the Assembly election, political parties of all hues had promised a ‘clean and green’ poll campaign. Yet, much like the promises in poll manifestoes, after the poll such big words have been forgotten by parties. Across the district, many constituencies are still flooded with hundreds of hoardings and banners urging voters to exercise their franchise. P.T. Thomas, from Thrikkakara, is the only MLA from the UDF who initiated a cleaning drive of campaign materials a day after the election.
For the City Corporation which already finds it tough to enforce the advertisement bylaw, making the city free of poll banners will be a major challenge. However, the CPM district leadership said that the party is on an eco-friendly mission to remove the election campaign materials. Adv. M. Anil Kumar, CPM candidate in Ernakulam constituency, told DC that an intensive drive is being carried out to remove all poll campaign materials.
"The workers have been asked to wind up the drive on Sunday (May 29) and most of the banners and posters have been removed," he said. CPM district secretary P. Rajeev said that 'clean and green election campaigning' is the party's state-wide policy.
"Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself has requested for the reuse and recycling of campaign materials such as flex prints, banners and posters. Party workers are engaged in removing the publicity materials in different parts of the district. The drive is almost complete in the city and outskirts," he said.
"During the swearing in ceremony of the new ministry, party volunteers had distributed grow-bags made of campaign materials. Instruction has been given to remove the remaining campaign materials from other constituencies," he added.
Meanwhile, Corporation Town Planning Committee chairperson Shainy Mathew told DC that many campaign materials still remain in the city and the corporation chief engineer has been instructed to initiate a special drive to clear them.
