With the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) coming into force from Saturday evening, officials were seen removing the flags and banners of various political parties at different places.
Workers of municipalities and panchayats were busy clearing and implementing the MCC from 4 p.m. onwards on Saturday. At Uppaluru village in Krishna district, the Panchayat workers were seen masking the statues of the political leaders erected at the junctions. They removed the flags of different parties at the local bus stops.
“We received orders from the officers to remove cut outs, flexis and flags of the political parties arranged at public places,” said a worker who was busy untying the banners. In Vijayawada, workers removed the banners of the leaders at different places on Saturday, after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the election schedule.
Flags tied to the poles on the road dividers, electric poles and iron stands at the public places were removed. The workers were seen carrying the removed flags and banners on trucks.
Meanwhile, election mood was seen in the party cadres of Telugu Desam Party, YSR Congress Party, Jana Sena Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, CPI, CPI(M) and other parties after the ECI announced the election schedule. Leaders of the political parties and the voters were glued to the televisions to know the election schedule during the press conference of the Election Commission.
In some villages, activists were seen dancing and celebrating the moment by carrying the party flags, after the ECI announced the election schedule.