CHENNAI: Chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Thursday said there would be strict monitoring of expenditure of each candidate in the forthcoming assembly elections in five states based on the guidelines followed in the recent Bihar polls.
"Each contestant has to open a new account where election expenses will be incurred. There will be a vigilant team of election observers, expenditure macro observers and video surveillance group for monitoring public meetings and functions of contestants. We will also maintain a shadow account, where we compare the original account of a candidate with ours. We will also improve the communication system in the booths," he said, after reviewing the preparations for assembly elections in the state with representatives of various political parties and district election officers, SPs, commissioners and IGP in Chennai.
Talking to reporters, Quraishi said he would take a serious look into the concerns raised by representatives of various political parties regarding the conduct of certain officials, and also into complaints of distribution of freebies and money during elections. "We had a meeting with all the political parties. Some of them raised serious objections on the partisan behaviour of some police officials in the past. We have to check the allegations and ascertain their veracity. I have given instructions to all senior officials to be fair and duty-bound irrespective of their political leanings during the election."
Asked how the commission was going to check the flow of money, epecially in Tamil Nadu which has a dubious record, the CEC said freebies mentioned in the election manifesto are legitimate. "But we will keep an eye on people who say if you vote for me, I will give you money'," he said, adding that the demand for a single-phase election would be considered only after reviewing the situation in other four states.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Integrity Forum, launched recently by retired civil servants living here, held discussions with director general (expenditure monitoring) Election Commission P K Das in Chennai on December 23. The forum along with various NGOs and forums of IITs and IIMs presented a 22-point memorandum to Das on curtailing money and muscle power during the state polls. And, in such a situation, the ECI may seriously consider advancing the operational period of code of conduct' starting 90 days before the polls.
Some of the suggestions made by the forum include halting in advance the announcement, implementation of welfare schemes targeting individuals, monitoring large bank transactions, videography of the entire campaign of political parties and candidates, banning liquor sales from the commencement of campaign till the date of counting and collection and collation of expenditure.
Documentation should be credible to take action like postponement of elections or disqualification of candidates and strengthening election observers so that they can be proactive and effective. According to M G Devasahayam, convener of the forum, "the EC official was receptive to the suggestions and Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar was also present during the discussions. Though the forum is pan Indian in its approach, currently it is concentrating its efforts to ensure corruption-free elections in Tamil Nadu next year.
