Candidates contesting the Bihar panchayat polls in districts bordering Nepal have put the State Election Commission in a fix with an innovative method of campaigning that not only is effective but also possibly helps them hoodwink poll authorities who are keeping an eye on their expenses.
Over 100 candidates in the fray in the seven border districts have been campaigning through advertisements on Nepal radio stations, which poll officials said was a violation of the model code. Among the stations that air the campaigns are Rajdevi FM, Jaleshwarnath FM, Madheshi Radio, Radio Today and Janakpur Radio — all of them quite popular in the border districts.
Some advertisements were dropped recently after returning officers received complaints. Authorities said candidates may be using it to escape the watch on their poll expenses as 24-hour monitoring of Nepali stations was virtually impossible.
Each panchayat has six posts, for which over 100 candidates are contesting. An officer said, “We have to put people to stay tuned to Nepali radio stations round the clock. Several of them could still be able to hoodwink us on poll expenses.â€