EC observers review measures taken in Chevella LS segment

Rangareddy: To check the free flow of cash during campaigning by candidates of various parties in the Chevella LS segment, the two election expenditure observers appointed by EC visited on Friday the office of the returning officer at Rajendranagar and went into a huddle with the election officials.

Both the observers, Senthil Kumaran, and Rajeev Chawra (both IRS), held a review meeting with the district election officer K Shashank, additional collector Pratima Singh, besides assistant returning officers (ASOs) and nodal officers at NAARM Guest House, adjacent to the mandal office in Rajendranagar.

The observers enquired about the candidates, the parties they belong to and way they are maintaining accounts of money being spent on campaigns. They asked the EC monitoring teams to perform their duties in coordination to check suspicious financial transactions of the candidates who violate the code of conduct. The observers wanted the DEOs to perform their tasks effectively, with utmost responsibility.

“Every penny spent by the candidates during the political campaign should be recorded as election expenses. Apart from this, anyone found enticing, intimidating or coercing voters should be reported through cVIGIL app; the response should be made within 100 minutes following the receipt of information,” said the observers.

“The whole event should be recorded through camera, supported by pictures; videos should be made along with brief details in English to ensure a water-tight case against the violation.

The name of the complainant will be kept confidential to ensure their safety. The cVIGIL app was made safe and easy to operate and offers a one-stop solution to report election-related violations,” the observers claimed.

Apart from the nodal officers, team members from MCC, accounting and police were present.