MAM
Advertisements on state-owned buses banned during Elections
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) has banned the display of political advertisements on State Road Transport Corporation buses and vehicles owned by Municipal Corporations etc, and other government owned vehicles when the Model Code of Conduct is in force for State Assembly or Legislative Council elections.
The Commission, which has already banned such advertisements through hoardings and posters, said “it wanted a level-playing field for all parties since state-owned buses or the corporations were necessarily run by the ruling parties.”
It also added that the action was taken after having duly considered all aspects of the matter in exercise of its powers under Article 324 (1) of the Constitution, and in the interest of conduct of free and fair elections.
The Commission’s circular letter of 7 October 2008 contains the instructions and guidelines to be followed in the matter of display of election related advertisements through hoardings, banners, posters etc. It mainly deala with advertisements on static property and regarding display of flags and stickers on private vehicles.
It can also be noted that there may be cases where advertisement-panels on buses are let out to advertising agencies for allocation to various clients during certain periods as per the contract entered into by them.
EC also stressed that a level playing field envisaged under the Model Code of Conduct is a very vital aspect for ensuring free and fair elections. “A party should not be in a position to take undue advantage on account of it being in power in the government. This will put the other parties and contestants at a disadvantageous position and will disturb the level playing field, adversely affecting the fairness of election.”
“There is reasonable likelihood that the allotment of advertisement spaces on such vehicles is likely to be manipulated more so in politically important constituencies and as such it will not be easy to ensure equitable distribution of advertisement space on the buses,” the Commission concluded.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
