With the upcoming Karnataka Assembly election gaining notoriety for being powered by big money, often by digital means, the Election Commission is monitoring the distribution of money through wallets and online payment platforms. While seizures of cash, liquor, precious metals and drugs have crossed ₹150 crore so far (after the election announcement on March 29), the monitoring of online transactions has been a challenge for the Commission.
In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena said that the Commission is collecting data on the bulk transfer of small amounts from bank accounts, and analysing it.
Monitoring by banks
“Ten days ago, we had a meeting with representatives from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), all online payment platforms and money wallets, apart from the State-level bankers committee. As all these platforms are linked to banks, we have instructed all banks to keep a watch in their own way and through their own systems,” he said.
He added that personnel from the State Account Service have been appointed in each district to analyse suspicious transactions. “If they notice any such transaction, systems have been put in place to generate feeds and inform the enforcement agency for further action. As of now, there is no case, but we are keeping a strict vigil,” he asserted.
Besides, any transaction of more than ₹1 lakh in banks is being scrutinised. “We are also working on monitoring the online e-commerce delivery platforms. Using artificial intelligence, the movement of goods which can be seen from e-way bills and from excess consumption in the State beyond the average consumption, are also being used as alerts,” he said.
Village intelligence
To check electoral malprcatices, all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) have been told to take people into confidence at the village level and gather information. “Sometimes, there can be misleading information. If the local people are confident that a particular DC is impartial and that they can share information with him, our vigilance can be made even more effective. It all depends on the leadership qualities of the DC,” he said.
Stating that vigilance is not limited to setting up checkposts and flying squads, the CEO said: “We are trying our best to hold free, fair and inducement-free polls.”
Tackling urban apathy
Acknowledging that urban apathy is another huge challenge that the Commission faces in every election, the CEO said, “We have identified 77 constituencies where the polling percentage is lower than the State average. Further, we have shortlisted polling booths in each of these 77 constituencies where the polling percentage has been lower than the constituency’s average. Our staff are interacting with residents in the jurisdiction of such polling booths to understand the issues that are keeping them away from voting. The issues raised are being addressed and people are motivated to come out and vote,” he said.
The Commission is also providing better facilities at polling stations including parking facilities. “This time, we are also working on informing people about the queue in a polling station at any given time through the Chunavana mobile application. One person in the polling station will keep updating the queue [that is, the number of people waiting at the polling station] once every 15 minutes, which will give people an idea of their wait time,” he said. “Moreover, with elections happening mid-week this time, there is no excuse for people to stay away from voting,” Mr. Meena added.
