The Election Commission (EC) has created a dedicated cell to deal with candidates having criminal antecedents following the Supreme Court ruling last year. A dedicated mobile application naming 'Know Your Candidate' containing information regarding criminal antecedents of the candidates as declared by them.
Moreover, a dedicated fund has been created for voter's awareness campaign and to make available the information regarding criminal antecedents of all contesting candidates for the general public. Any fine imposed by the Supreme Court on political parties regarding non-compliance of its above orders is to be submitted in the above fund. The poll panel has stressed that candidates as well as the concerned political party shall issue a declaration in media about the antecedents of the candidate.
As per the guidelines, it will be mandatory for political parties to upload on their website detailed information regarding individuals with pending criminal cases (including the nature of the offencess, and relevant particulars such as whether charges have been framed, the concerned Court, the case number etc.) who have been selected as candidates, along with the reasons for such selection, and also as to why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates.
The reasons as to selection shall be with reference to the qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned, and not mere ‘winnability’ at the polls. This information also needs to be published in one local vernacular newspaper and one national newspaper; on the official social media platforms of the political party, including Facebook and Twitter.
For ensuring periodic awareness of electors during the campaign, the EC has now prescribed a certain timeline for publicity of criminal antecedents: within first 4 days of withdrawal of nominations, between next 5th - 8th days, and from 9th day till the last day of campaign (the second day prior to date of poll).
Last year, the apex court directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to create a dedicated mobile application containing information published by the candidates regarding their criminal antecedents so that voter gets information on his or her mobile phone at one stroke.
“Political parties are to publish information regarding criminal antecedents of candidates on the homepage of their websites, thus making it easier for the voter to get to the information that has to be supplied. It will also become necessary now to have on the homepage a caption which states ‘candidates with criminal antecedents',” the bench said in its 71-page verdict.