PUNE: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday claimed of addressing 7,360 election code violation complaints in Maharashtra over the past month, with only one such case pending.
The complaints were logged via ECI’s cVIGIL application during the one-month period ending Nov 15, following the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. The cVIGIL app enables citizens to report poll code violation complaints. Pune district alone has accounted for 1,431 complaints, and all of them have been resolved, district poll official said.
In an enforcement crackdown since Oct 15, various state and central agencies seized assets worth Rs 546.84 crore, which include illegal cash, liquor, narcotics and precious metals, said a statement issued by the state election office. “Seizures were made to stop any inducement of voters in Maharashtra, where polling will take place on Nov 20,” a poll official said.
The poll code is a set of guidelines drafted by ECI that outlines how political parties and candidates must conduct themselves during election campaigning and polling.
Poll campaigning ends on Monday evening
Election officials have 15 pending requests for ground bookings from NCP (SCP), NCP, Congress and BJP, with the campaigning for the Nov 20 assembly election set to end on Monday evening.
“The requests are for four rural and three city assembly constituencies. This includes two competing requests for a sabha in Ambegaon by NCP and NCP (SCP) over the weekend. NCP chief Ajit Pawar has also requested a ground in Baramati for the campaign’s closing meeting on Monday,” an official said.
Besides, candidates and star campaigners have scheduled events in the city constituencies of Wadgaon Sheri, Shivajinagar and Pune Cantonment over the weekend. Election officials are working to clear these last-minute booking requests before the campaign period ends.
In the district, the election department received 1,074 complaints through the Election Commission’s 1950 helpline, with more than 60% of callers reporting difficulty locating their names on voter lists ahead of the November 20 assembly polls.
Election officials said on Friday that complainants were directed to returning officers (ROs) of their respective assembly constituencies for assistance. The helpline, introduced following similar issues during Lok Sabha polls, also handled queries about new voter registrations.
