LUCKNOW: Covered in pink sheets since January following an Election Commission (EC) order, the drapes were at long last drawn off from scores of statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and elephants - the poll symbol of her party - in public spaces across Lucknow Sunday morning, an official said.
These include nine statues of Mayawati and 156 statues of elephants in Lucknow. The statues have been uncovered and are being washed here, the official said.
There are similarly covered statues in Noida as well.
In a late night decision Saturday, the EC ordered that the statues be uncovered, following the completion of the voting process in Uttar Pradesh.
The statues were covered on the orders of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S.Y. Quraishi, after opposition parties complained that the elephants, made at the cost of public exchequer, gave an "unfair advantage" to the ruling BSP.
On Jan 11, the statues were covered, and over 2 km of pink polythene was used to cover the 200 plus statues of elephants -- the BSP's party symbol.
The statues of the chief minister at Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal in Gomti Nagar in Lucknow were fixed by cardboards on iron scaffoldings.