Poster war between Madhusudan Mistry and BJP continues

The poster war between Congress Vadodara candidate Madhusudan Mistry and the Bharatiya Janata Party refuses to die down as the saffron party has now demanded that the expenses of the exhibits carrying photos of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi with him should be included in his personal expenditure.

"These huge posters were on display in various parts of the city on Saturday last when Mistry filed his nomination papers before the Vadodara district returning officer. So, the expenses on posters should be included in personal expenditure of Mistry," Gujarat energy minister and BJP in-charge of Vadodara Lok Sabha Saurabh Patel said today.

Mistry, contesting against Narendra Modi, was arrested with his supporters for rioting after they tore down posters of the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. They were later released by a magistrate on personal bonds of Rs 5,000 each.

The poster war between Mistry and the BJP broke out after the ruling party in the state booked all advertisement kiosks in the city installed by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation where they put up Modi's posters.

Mistry has been demanding a fare share of the kiosks from the district authorities and the VMC for displaying his exhibits. The contract to install big posters of the Congress has been allotted to a private agency by the All India Congress Committee, sources said.

A team of the agency on Sunday covered the face of Mistry with white papers in these posters to avoid big expenses, they said. The Congress is planning to install new posters of Mistry at several locations in the city, sources added.