To ensure voters are not lured by free liquor given away by political parties in the guise of Diwali gifts, the electoral office of Delhi and the excise department will keep a strict vigil on the sale of liquor in the city in the run up to the Assembly elections on December 4.
According to officials, CCTV cameras have been installed at all 705 liquor vends in the city, both public and private. Excise department officials will submit video footage on every alternate day to the EC while flying squads of poll officials will scan daily 500 minutes of footage (selected randomly) to check for any unusual activity. Moreover, the EC will ensure that each vendor and warehouse is covered by flying squads at least once every two days.
As many as 11 excise teams with flying squads will carry out random checks to ensure strict compliance. A meeting of officials of excise, election office and flying squad was held on Tuesday, which decided that officials from the excise department and the flying squads would team up with police personnel deputed at 90 inter-State checkposts to keep tabs on liquor supply from neighbouring States. Officials will conduct spot checks at liquor stores and compare present sales figures with last year’s data in order to detect any abnormal increase. A report on the same would be submitted with district election officers on a daily basis.
“Unusual rise in sales at any liquor shop will draw the attention of excise officials and EC flying squads and punitive action will follow if it is found that the increased sales are linked to propaganda by political parties,” said Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer, Vijay Dev. “An increase of 8 to 10 per cent in sales is normal during the festive season but any further increase will be considered abnormal and action will be taken,” added Dev.
The electoral office will also ensure that election-related dry days are not only observed in poll-bound States but in the bordering States as well. Meanwhile, to discuss various issues related to the conduct of polls, a coordination meeting of all five Assembly election-bound States and their neighbours has been scheduled on Wednesday. The chief secretaries of all these States, along with their Directors General of Police and Chief Electoral Officers will attend the meeting to discuss election-related issues, said an official.