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

EC to get about 10% less security forces; so poll period stretched by 3 days, phases increased for assembly elections.

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) has to conduct the Lok Sabha polls next month with about 10% lesser security forces than 2014 owing to heavy troop deployment at the border.

In contrast, the number of polling stations will be up 10% this general election due to spike in number of registered voters. This, in turn, would mean requirement for more security.

ET has learnt that EC held detailed closed-door deliberations with the government on this issue before agreeing to a number which would be sufficient to conduct polls without compromising national security.

“Overall availability of forces are affected by other commitments of security forces in border states,” EC officials confirmed to ET.

The security personnel deployed on election duty are drawn from seven central forces.

These include Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and National Security Guard.

This is why EC had to stretch the election period slightly longer than 2014 — even though number of phases were reduced from nine to seven — so that available troops could get more time to move from one election zone to another.

But when it came to dealing with simultaneous assembly polls in some states, phases were increased so that minimal extra force is needed.

Informed sources told ET that this was a highly complex exercise, where it also had to be borne in mind that, unlike 2014, troops cannot not be catapulted far away from where they are garrisoned.

Odisha, for instance, will vote in four phases instead of the usual two-phase schedule — a point also raised by the Biju Janata Dal.

As it now turns out, the EC was able to get only half the number of troops it projected for conducting a Lok Sabha poll in Odisha, sources told ET.

This was complicated by a significant increase in sensitive or ‘critical’ polling stations in the state — up from 4,327 in 2014 to 6,390 in 2019. Eventually, it was decided to hold a poll over four phases.

The total number of polling stations in 2019 polls will be over 10.3 lakh compared with 9.28 lakh in 2014, hence the need for more security.

Bihar has seen a 17.8% increase in polling stations in 2019 as compared to 2014. Uttar Pradesh will have at least 16% more polling stations than in the last Lok Sabha election.

In fact, EC has not been able to schedule assembly election simultaneously in J&K with Lok Sabha polls due to non-availability of adequate forces.

Sources told ET that the home ministry and the state administration in J&K both put it down in writing that they would not be able to provide the quantum of security personnel required to conduct assembly polls alongside Lok Sabha polls.

Keeping in mind the availability issue around security personnel, a live border situation and the need to rest the forces as well, the EC and home ministry have worked out a deployment schedule that minimises long distance travel for the personnel.

The improvement in the situation in Assam after the Centre allowed the Citizenship Bill to lapse in the Budget session, sources said, did come as a breather in planning out the deployment.

Special effort has been made to schedule a poll calendar that allows troops to move from an adjoining state to another, instead of having them travel long distances and from opposite directions as has happened in the past.

The EC announced a sevenphase Lok Sabha poll schedule starting April 11 and ending May 19. The results will be announced on May 23.

source: Economic Times

Over 80% of the polling stations in the Valley are already designated as hyper sensitive.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will visit J&K on March 4-5 and take a final call on the possibility of holding state elections either along with the Lok Sabha polls or soon after it.

 
The EC will reach J&K after visiting Maharashtra and UP, and is likely to announce the Lok Sabha election schedule and its decision on J&K polls soon after the visit.

 
ET has learnt that the state administration has conveyed that it is ready to hold assembly elections provided adequate security personnel are brought in. Two ‘security requirement’ scenarios have been shared with the EC and the home ministry –– of holding assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha elections or of holding it soon after the Lok Sabha elections are completed and before the President’s rule in the state ends on June 20.

Meanwhile, the home ministry is learnt to have indicated that it may be possible to bring in heavier security deployment to enable multi-phase polls in J&K. The state is learnt to have estimated that 800 companies of paramilitary forces may be required for conducting assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls in the state. It is assessed that about 200 companies of additional forces will be needed for the assembly polls alone as security requirements will increase with more candidates in the fray.

Data cited by HRD ministry shows professor-level posts for reserved candidates will cease to exist in 21 central universities.

NEW DELHI: The Centre, faced with political pressure on the university quota row, has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court packing it with 13 pages of data to show how the apex court’s January order will work “against the interest of SCs/STs”, amount to “grave miscarriage of justice and will jeopardise the rights of SCs/STs & OBCs”.

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD)  ministry has submitted, in its petition filed last week , that the total SC/ST/OBC representation is expected to come down by more than half ––from 2,663 seats to 1,241 in a year if the new faculty quota system is implemented.

The 31 annexures attached to the Centre’s petition provides data collected from 21 Central Universities to show the impact of changing the reservation formula as directed by courts.

source: Economic Times