Kochi: The State Election Commission, in an election notification, has urged political parties to avoid flex boards during campaigning. However, now that the campaigning for the local body polls has taken off, candidates seem not disposed to obey the Court’s directive in its full spirit.
If those who are engaged in the flex printing business are to be believed, the orders for printing flexes have not fallen even after the HC order. “There is no reduction in the number of orders. Candidates prefer flex as it is cheaper and more effective,” said the manager of a printing press in Kaloor.
Candidates, not all of them though, irrespective of political affiliations, have already erected flex boards with their smiling faces in various parts of the city and, according to party workers, they can’t avoid flexes as grassroots-level campaign is crucial in polls to Local Self-Government (LSG) bodies.
“We are trying to bring down the use of flex and, at the same time, making people aware of its hazardous aspects,” said District Congress committee president V J Poulose.
He said that campaigning without the use of flex is very difficult as it is one of the cheapest and effective methods of vote-catching.
“The total number of flexes used for the coming local body election will be very high. Even if every candidate minimises the use of flex boards, the overall figure will be very high. But when coming to Assembly or Lok Sabha election, the number of flexes used will be less,” he added.
According to BJP district president P J Thomas, “The decision to reduce the use of flex is not practical as most of the candidates resort to it as an effective and economic way of publicity. In the LSG poll campaign, flex boards have been erected not in prime areas but mostly in the outskirts of the city. Using flex boards is one of the simple, easy and effective ways of campaigning, while the alternative printing methods will cost double the amount for flex printing. Also, for party leaders, it is practically difficult to stop all their candidates from depending on flex boards,” he said.
Town Planning Committee chairman T J Vinod, who is also a candidate of the Congress, is of the opinion that the directive of the HC is a welcome one because of the danger flex boards and hoardings pose to road safety and also owing to the environmental pollution they cause. “Use of flex boards is only one among the many ways of campaigning. The ban on flex, however, will affect the election campaigning to a certain extent because flex boards are considered a quick way to communicate,” said Vinod.
Even the state government had imposed a blanket ban on flex boards in October 2014. But, weeks later, following requests from workers in the flex board industry, the government diluted its stand by issuing a fresh order which said that flex boards could be erected with the permission of civic bodies concerned. Though the government directive welcomed boards and banners made of cotton, there have been no takers for eco-friendly campaign materials.