NEW DELHI: More than 110 Lok Sabha constituencies have been identified as “expenditure sensitive” or prone to influence through money power in the upcoming general election, according to the latest data compiled by the Election Commission. The number is likely to exceed 150 Lok Sabha seats out of a total 543 as inputs from more states are filed, ET has learnt.
The election will be held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19, with counting on May 23. All Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu and more than half in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Karnataka and Gujarat have been assessed as “expenditure sensitive”.
For the first time, the Election Commission has decided to send in two expenditure observers to each of these constituencies to create special teams dedicated to tracking activity on the ground. The recently constituted Multi Department Election Intelligence Committee (MDIC), which held its first meeting on March 15, will also put these constituencies under close scrutiny to track and freeze illegal money flows.
The first state-level feedback to EC has shown that political parties and candidates are likely to dole out cash and other freebies including drugs, liquor and household appliances to influence voters in 112 constituencies.
The EC assessment is based on inputs by chief electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and Union Territories. The Tamil Nadu CEO has sought observers for each of its 39 constituencies. In 2017, the EC had countermanded by-elections to RK Nagar. It has postponed assembly polls in two constituencies in 2016 amid allegations of rampant voter bribery and cash seizures.
Andhra Pradesh, known to see high levels of money flow in elections, will have 116 of 175 assembly constituencies and 16 of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies under watch. In Telangana, 17 Lok Sabha seats will be under scrutiny. In Bihar, 21 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats across 26 assembly constituencies are on the EC radar as are two LS seats in Jharkhand.
In Gujarat, 28 assembly constituencies and 18 of 26 LS constituencies are on the list as are 12 of 28 in Karnataka, EC data indicates. Four of the five LS constituencies in Uttarakhand are sensitive besides two out of six in J&K. Three Lok Sabha seats each in Haryana and Chhattisgarh, one out of two in Goa, five in Rajasthan and six in Punjab are also on the watch list. Eight assembly constituencies and two LS constituencies in Manipur, 23 Vidhan Sabha seats and two LS seats in Meghalaya, seven assembly constituencies and one LS constituency in Nagaland are on the radar as well.
Uttar Pradesh is still finalising its list of sensitive constituencies as candidates in the fray are likely to be determining factors. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Kerala and the Union territories of Delhi, Chandigrah, Andaman &Nicobar, Daman & Diu have not yet indicated any such constituencies. The EC is likely to reassess this.
West Bengal, for instance, has sought more expenditure observers even though it hasn’t indicated any specific constituency as sensitive. Money power has been identified by the EC repeatedly as one of the biggest challenges to the conduct of fair and free polls. The EC seized Rs 1,200 crore during the 2014 LS election, including Rs 300 crore in cash. Of the latter, Rs 124 crore was seized in Andhra Pradesh alone while drugs worth more than Rs 700 crore were seized in Punjab. Since then, the commission has posted a total seizure of Rs 1,837.52 crore until early 2018 in 21 state assembly elections.
In the recent round of assembly elections in five states in November-December 2018, cash and goods worth Rs 296 crore were seized. These seizures are just the tip of the iceberg, say experts. The Centre for Media Studies projects that over Rs 50,000 crore will be spent on LS polls this year and most of it will be “covert” or “illegal”.
source: Economic Times