THANE: More than 3,000 banners political flags and hoardings put up all over the city by political leaders and their functionaries in Thane, Kalyan and Bhiwandi Lok Sabha segment were ripped off or blackened by the authorities on Tuesday in keeping with the model code of conduct, which came into effect on Sunday.The clean-up drive is part of the pre-poll exercise by the state authorities to ensure that the voters are not influenced by any claims or announcements made by a political party or their leaders. Most political functionaries resort to these practices and put up their hoardings or posters in key junctions as it is the most cost-effective way to attract eyeballs and reach out to the voters.The figures compiled by the district administration late on Tuesday revealed that the highest number of such self-congratulatory posters and banners were found in the three assembly seats of Kopri-Panchpakhadi, Kalyan (west) and Kalyan (rural), Dhanaji Toraskar, the nodal officer of code of conduct said.The Bhiwandi LS constituency, had 957 illegal banners, whereas in Kalyan 1,529 political hoardings, graffiti were pulled down, while in Thane action was taken on 657 such posters and hoardings.

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