Code of conduct kicks in; Rahul Dravid is Election Ambassador

BENGALURU: When the Election Commission of India announced the election calendar for the Karnataka assembly polls on Tuesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was in Chikaballapur for a dairy farming event, called off the programme and returned to the city in a private car.
Tuesday was, for all practical purposes, the last day the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government wielded power over the State, although it will vacate office only after the election of a new government on May 15. The model code of conduct, which came into force immediately, takes away core powers of the government: no more official programmes, no announcements of schemes or programmes, no transfer of officials, no misuse of government machinery and facilities. Transfers, if any, can be made only with the Election Commission’s permission.

Prof Trilochan Sastry, Founder-Trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms said “With the guidelines in place, it is definitely not an easy task for the ECI to monitor the entire State.”

No sooner did the announcement take place that the City municipal corporation went on a poster-removal drive. The district election officer deployed 20 vehicles and staff to carry out the exercise.

“We hope to remove all posters and flexes in a day. Our team will also monitor advertisements on FM stations and television. All ads in newspapers and television channels will have to be pre-certification by my team,” N Manjunath Prasad, district election officer for the 28 constituencies in Bengaluru City, said.

Karnataka’s chief electoral officer, Sanjiv Kumar said that his staff was well-trained to implement the MMC.

This apart, many government-departments including BBMP, BESCOM and BWSSB removed the images of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George from their websites. Images of some ministers, however, continued in some websites including that of the transport department and the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development.

INDIRA CANTEEN:
The DEO, however, said the pictures of Indira Gandhi -- which are displayed at the government-run Indira canteens -- will not be removed as it does not violate the model code of conduct (MCC). “The photographs of those who are dead can be displayed. If there are pictures of other political leaders, they will be removed,” he said.

BUREAUCRACY RULES:
With politicians moving out of the Vidhana Soudha to fight it out in the dust and heat of the hinterlands, the bureaucracy will be at the helm for the next 45 days. “Non-planned administration,” is how former additional chief secretary V Balasubramanian described the period from now till elections.

“The bureaucracy despite having power to take decisions during the model code of conduct, generally does not take any major decisions. They prefer to delay the decision-making process and wait for the next government to come to power,” he said.

DRAVID AS AMBASSADOR:
Cricketer Rahul Dravid, known for his sense of fair-play and sportsmanship, was named ambassador for the Karnataka elections. An idol for youngsters across careers, Dravid, a Bengalurean, could not be reached for a comment.

Anjali Saini, who initiated the Million Voter Rising campaign in the city, said: "Making him the ambassador to create awareness among voters will definitely do good, given the popularity of cricketers and Rahul Dravid's connections with the state. People should also take elections seriously and come out to cast their votes so that the candidates take infrastructure issues on priority."

One officer who is part of the election machinery said "In addition, he is non-controversial, known for fair play and a gentleman. It is an indication that we want the election to be free and fair."