Hoardings containing details like educational qualifications, assets and criminal records of candidates for August 11 Madhya Pradesh civic elections will be displayed as per the state election commission’s mandate to help voters make informed choices.

Polling officials will make comparative charts of the details and display them on not more than 5×5 feet hoardings based on the information the candidates provide in their affidavits. Each hoarding will have information about a maximum of eight candidates.

The ruling BJP and Opposition Congress have welcomed the initiative, saying it will empower voters to make a better choices. “Displaying them outside booths is a good practice,’’ said Congress’s Pankanj Chaturvedi. He added that no voter checks affidavits of candidates though they are available online. The BJP’s Lokendra Parasher said that they stand for transparency. “The experiment will make voters aware of the backgrounds of candidates before they cast their votes.’’

Association for Democratic Reforms’s Rolly Shivhare said that Maharashtra was the first state to undertake this exercise.