HYDERABAD: K Jagannatha Rao , popularly known as KJ Rao, made his mark by overseeing free and fair elections in Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir during his tenure as adviser to the Election Commission. He now brings that expertise to Andhra Pradesh where he is helping civil society groups to curb the influence of money and liquor in elections. In an exclusive interview to Expresso he talked about the elections and his expectations.
The need for a common platform for civil society groups to play an independent monitoring role came about after talk of the large scale use of money and alcohol to influence voters.
Thus was born the ‘Ennikala Nigha Vedika’ (Election Watch Forum).
They persuaded K J Rao to come on board.
Till now the forum has toured the State and formed committees in every district and constituency. “These committees will take care of the nigha of the entire district,’’ says K J Rao. But ever innovative ways of transporting and distribution are coming to light. Party activists are carting money in tubeless tires and stashing them in hollowed out doors of their vehicles. Nearly Rs 20 lakh can be transported in four hollowed out doors of a vehicle. Money is being deposited directly in bank accounts; ATM cards are being given for them to withdraw money; ‘’Such tactics cannot be found in any other State,’’ says K J Rao.
The early successes of the forum included initiating action against defacement of public property and shutting down belt shops. ‘’When we met the Commissioner of Excise he claimed that there were no belt shops in the State,’’ recalls Rao. Luckily, the Election Commission took note of their complaint and issued orders to shut down belt shops. K J Rao maintains that 90 per cent of belt shops in the State have been shut down and the Nigah people are trying to locate the remaining 10 per cent.
‘’As soon as we find them we will report to the SPs,’’ he said.
The pressure of the Vedika can be clearly felt according to Rao. The latest in a series of awareness campaigns is telecasting of ads urging people to make informed choices while voting. Television channels have been requested to broadcast these for free since these are public service messages.
K J Rao notes that the scale of election violations is so large that it is a difficult job keeping up. For instance, at the nomination stage itself people are brought in tractors and trolleys which violated the Motor Vehicles Act. The Nigah is trying to document all such violations including distribution of Biryani packets, money and liquor. ‘’But under the able guidance of DGP Mohanty people are now afraid of doing these things openly,’’ said Rao.
Describing the amount of unaccounted money recovered so far as 5 per cent of the total amount, the Vedika has instructed all of its activists to be extra vigilant over the next two days. ‘’This period is called kalla ratrulu in Telugu and will be the most important period to ensuring free and fair elections,’’ he said.
tushar@epmltd.com
