A huge cutout of MLAs of Vijayanagar and Govindaraj Nagar installed near Vijayanagar metro station in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR Despite a ban on banners, cutouts, and wall paintings in Bengaluru, several stretches across the city remain dotted with them. In Govindaraj Nagar, giant cutouts and flexes wishing local Congress MLA Priya Krishna for his birthday on April 27 have drawn sharp criticism from residents. Large life-sized images of the MLA were also painted on public walls, while flexes and cutouts lined key roads in the locality. Many residents called the displays an eyesore and questioned the blatant violation of civic rules. “It is shocking that public spaces are being misused like this even when there is a clear ban. It completely ruins the look of the neighbourhood,” said Arun Kumar, a resident of Viajayanagar. Another resident, Meena R., added, “Instead of beautifying the area, our elected representatives are defacing it for personal publicity.” The Hindu attempted to contact Priya Krishna multiple times for a comment, but he remained unreachable. Meanwhile, Bruhat …