Amid controversy over freebies promised by the political parties in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission (EC) took "serious view of activities by political parties and candidates seeking details of voters under the guise of various surveys for their proposed beneficiary schemes" and termed such activities as "corrupt practice of bribery under Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951".
In an advisory issued to all national and State level parties, the commission has asked them to immediately cease any activities "that involve registering individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes through any advertisements/ survey/App."
The advisory came ahead of the third phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, slated for May 7. The commission has directed all District Election Officers to take appropriate actions against any such advertisements within the statutory provisions.
The commission noted that during the ongoing elections has come across instances where some political parties and candidates have been engaging in activities that blur the lines between legitimate surveys and partisan efforts to register individuals for beneficiary-oriented schemes and individual benefits under the guise of conducting surveys or creating awareness about the existing schemes of the Government or creating awareness about the party manifesto regarding prospective individual benefit schemes etc. Highlighting the possible "quid-pro-quo arrangement", the commission said the act of inviting or calling upon voters to register for post-election benefits "may create an impression of the requirement of one-to-one transactional relationship between the elector and the proposed benefit"
This also has the potential to generate quid-pro-quo arrangements for voting in a particular way thereby leading to inducement, the poll body added. It added that the potential of quid pro quo for voting and inducements amounts to bribery/corrupt practice.
In this regard, the Election Commission directed all District Election Officers to take appropriate actions against any such advertisements within the statutory provisions namely Section 127A of the Representation of People's Act, 1951, 123 (1) of the Representation of People's Act, 1951, and Section 171 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"Therefore, the Commission directs all political parties and candidates or their agents or any other person(s) to immediately cease and desist from any activities that involve registering individuals for beneficiary-oriented schemes through any advertisements (in print or in digital space), pamphlets, websites, web or mobile applications, text or social media platform (WhatsApp, etc.) messages, missed calls, distribution of forms, or by collecting personal data under the pretext of offline survey forms or digital surveys etc," the Commission said.
The commission has directed all district election officers to take appropriate action against any such advertisement within the statutory provisions, including section 127A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (which prohibits printing or publishing of any election pamphlet or poster which does not bear the names and addresses of the printer and publisher). The other provisions the EC has asked its officials to use to clamp down on such practices are section 123 (1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (corrupt practices), and section 171 (B) of IPC (accepting gratification).
The commission also cited examples of activities which "obscure the distinction between authentic surveys and biased attempts to enroll people in programmes for political gain". These include newspaper advertisements calling upon individual voters to register themselves for benefits by giving missed calls or calling a phone number.
The Commission also cited the distribution of guarantee cards in the form of pamphlets giving details of prospective individual benefits along with an attached form asking for details of voters such as name, age, address, mobile number, booth number and constituency name. It flagged the distribution of forms seeking details of voters such as name, ration card number, address, phone number, booth number, bank account number, constituency name and number in the name of "socio-economic survey" of prospective beneficiaries for expanding an ongoing Government benefit scheme. The EC further cited the circulation or propagation of web platforms or web or mobile applications by parties or candidates seeking details of voters such as names, addresses, phone numbers, booth numbers and constituency names.
This, it said, "may or may not" have an invitation to voters for availing individual benefits or revealing their voting preferences. Instances of newspaper advertisements or physical forms regarding existing individual benefit schemes along with a registration form seeking details of voters also stated in the advisory.
The commission's advisory came amid the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The first phase of the polling was held on April 19 and the second phase of voting happened on April 26. Now, the third phase will take place on May 7. The elections are happening across the country in seven phases. The results for the Lok Sabha Elections will be declared on June 4.
