In an initiative of electoral reforms, the Election Commission will soon ask the government to disqualify for up to 5 years candidates listed in charge sheets for bribing voters. The move follows after the commission in its enquiry has found that innovative ways were used for luring electors in a Tamil Nadu bypoll.
Sources said that the poll panel has decided to write to the Law Ministry seeking changes in the Representation of the People Act to ensure that candidates contesting Lok Sabha and assembly polls are disqualified for up to five years once they are chargesheeted by a court.
Earlier this month, the commission had indefinitely cancelled the RK Nagar Assembly bypoll after it found that money power was used to influence voters. The bypoll was to be held on 12 April. It was necessitated following the demise of J Jayalalithaa.
The poll panel had pointed out that political parties and their top leaders used innovative ways in bribing voters in the RK Nagar Assembly seat to outwit law enforcement authorities mandated with keeping an eye on poll expenditure.
In its elaborate 33-page order, the poll watchdog said it cannot help "expressing its anguish over the sordid state of affairs" as revealed in the reports of the election expenditure observers, monitors and Income Tax authorities.
The innovative ways which the political parties and their leaders at the top echelons have devised to bypass law enforcing authorities entrusted with keeping an eye on unauthorised and illegal expenses in election campaigns need to be dealt with a heavy hand, the EC had observed.
Many complaints were received by the commission on possibilities of inducement of electors by distributing cash and gifts in innovative forms like tokens, prepaid phone recharge coupons, newspaper subscription, milk tokens, money transfer in no-frill accounts in banks and even mobile wallet payment to mobile numbers.