ECI Orders Veiling of Mayawati's Statues in UP During Polls

With less than a month left for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered that all statues of the state's Chief Minister, Mayawati, and her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) symbol - the elephant - across the state - be covered.

"Except for Mahatma Gandhi, all photos of political leaders will be removed. There must be a level playing ground. Partiality will lead to severe consequences," said Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi at a press conference in Lucknow on Saturday.

The Chief Minister, in October, inaugurated the large Ambedkar Park (or the Dalit Prenra Sthal), a showpiece project on the banks of the Jamuna, which cost nearly Rs. 685 crores to build and is spread over 33 acres of land.

The park hosts 12 life-size statues of Baba Ambedkar and the late Bahujan Samaj Party leader and Mayawati's mentor, Kanshi Ram, besides those of the Chief Minister herself. In addition, a total of 24 pink sandstone elephants adorn the park.