A core committee has been constituted to chalk out a detailed plan of action in consultation with the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and other partners for the Uttarakhand Election Watch (UEW) campaign in view of the upcoming Panchayat and lok Sabha polls in order to make voters capable of tackling crime and corruption in politics.
The core committee with UEW coordinator and RTI Club Uttarakhand president Dr BP Maithani as the convener was formed at a conference organised recently by the ADR in collaboration with RTI Club Uttarakhand.
About 65 civil society members from across the State had deliberated on measures to ensure free and fair elections during the coming Panchayat and Parliamentary elections in Uttarakhand on the occasion.
According to Maithani, election watch campaign should be carried out at the macro and micro levels. At the macro level it should consist of extensive information dissemination through print, electronic and social media. At the micro level, the campaign should concentrate on selected segments of some Parliamentary constituencies for intensive Panchayat and ward level meetings.
The campaign should comprise discussions, display of posters, banners, distribution of pamphlets and holding street plays for communicating the message of defeating the politics of crime and corruption.
At the conference the State Election Commissioner, Subardhan said that though democracy was the best form of government, its operation was also beset by malpractices adopted during elections.
Democracy should not stay limited to papers but should also be felt by the people, he stressed. According to Neelesh Eka from ADR Delhi, based on the information contained in affidavits filed by the candidates contesting Parliamentary and Assembly elections, the ADR regularly releases the reports of the income, assets and other antecedents of the candidates.
The ADR has completed a survey covering all parliamentary constituencies seeking voter’s feedback on the performance of their MPs which will be shared with the media through State election watch groups, he added.
Several suggestions have also made for intervention by the State Government, State and Central Election Commissions for which written representations will be made seeking corrective action, said Maithani.