THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : With electioneering gathering pace, cases of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violation have also risen, prompting the Election Commission (EC) to strictly enforce the code in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election.
According to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)-Kerala, Sanjay Kaul, over 1,000 teams of the state poll panel are deployed across Kerala to check electoral malpractices. In addition to the complaints received from citizens via the cVIGIL app, the teams would also take action suo motu upon detecting irregularities.
“While static surveillance squads detect violation of norms, especially the movement of unaccounted cash, they also monitor the general violations of the MCC. They are functioning in the form of check posts at various locations,” Kaul told TNIE.
To bring agility in the poll panel’s actions against violations, a flying squad has also been constituted, which is constantly on the move. “It has been ensured that every assembly segment under a parliamentary constituency has at least three such flying squads,” the official said, adding that their widespread deployment serves as a deterrent to offenders.
Owing to the presence of large-scale surveillance by election department officials, the number of posters and hoardings has come down drastically this time around. “If unauthorised posters and banners put up by political parties are torn or pulled down in large numbers by the poll panel team, it incurs a loss to them. This also deters large-scale defacement of public property,” the officer said.
The response of the public towards the cVIGIL app, launched by the EC for citizens to report electoral code violations, has also been phenomenal. While there were concerns about bogus complaints being registered via the app, in Kerala, the situation was different as 98% of the issues raised were found to be genuine.
“It is significant to note that of the nearly 1.5 lakh complaints received across India via cVIGIL, over one lakh were from Kerala. This shows that the voter is very much aware of the facilities at his disposal to ensure a free and fair election,” Kaul said.
The official said most of the parties have adhered to the directions of the polls panel when they have been put on notice for the violations. Also, the complaints did not warrant the initiation of criminal proceedings as the majority of them were related to unauthorised use of posters, banners and election material and property defacement.
Though small in number, other complaints related to MCC violation included posters lacking information regarding the publisher, unauthorised use of vehicles for poll-related activities, distribution of money, liquor and gifts, display of weapons, hate speech and use of loudspeakers beyond authorised hours.
INDIRECT / SURROGATE MCC VIOLATIONS
In addition to direct violations of MCC, EC has also identified surrogate or indirect violations:
Use of inappropriate / abusive language against rival star campaigners
Making false or unverified allegations
Slangs conveying divine censure / personal vilification
Use of demeaning and vilifying social media posts and caricatures
Present social media posts out of context and spread misinformation
Promise delivery under non existent schemes to lure voters.
Personally attack political rivals or ridicule their candidates
Misleading advertisements in garb of news items to disturb level playing field
State governments promoting their welfare schemes in neighbouring states at an opportune time
Making generalised comments against groups of voters using candidate’s name