Election Commission officials, who are battling efforts by political parties to bribe voters in the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency, are now facing a new challenge in the form of mobile-based payment and money transfer applications.
An officer, who is coordinating efforts dealing with the technical aspects of the money distribution menace, said that the EC had earlier brought under its scanner the unusual withdrawal of money from ATMs of various banks in the Assembly constituency. “Following this, we noticed that there were attempts to bribe people in areas located outside the constituency. This was also because patrolling within the constituency was heavy and unusual movements were being monitored,” the officer said.
However, with more and more people using mobile apps, the EC is faced with a new problem. “With these applications, anyone can sit anywhere and send money to people residing anywhere with their mobile phones. While our officials would be patrolling the constituency for any suspicious activity, the app can send money to voters without anyone noticing. So, we are trying to talk to a leading payment app company headquartered abroad,” the officer added. The idea is to explore if such money transfer can be tracked.
