Candidates contesting the forthcoming legislative assembly elections are expected to take additional caution in submitting their affidavits, particularly the information related to their finances, as the Income Tax (IT) department is firm on cross-checking the details with its own database.
“Affidavits filed by the candidates will immediately come to us. The details of cash and other resources furnished by the candidates will be examined against our own database in coordination with other enforcement agencies,” Hyderabad region IT (Investigation) Director General Sanjay Bahadur said. He added that action will be duly initiated against any candidates with discrepancies in their respective affidavits.
Accordingly, the IT department has deployed financial intelligence units in different parts of the State to monitor election expenditure and related issues in the ongoing campaign by different parties. The statements made by senior officials within the department assumes significance in light of the cases filed by the contesting candidates in the previous elections, which are being heard in different courts at present.
Several MLAs of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti are facing cases in the petitions filed against them after the 2018 assembly election. Minister V. Srinivas Goud faced an election petition alleging that he suppressed information pertaining to his assets in the affidavit. The Minister filed an interim application seeking direction not to hear the election petition but it was dismissed and the case continued for around four years.
The court, which heard a similar case against Kothagudem MLA Vanama Venkateswara Rao, declared his election invalid and imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh. Another Minister Koppula Eshwar also faced a similar case filed by Congress candidate Laxman Kumar following which the court appointed an advocate commissioner to adjudicate the petition.
The IT department has announced its resolve to depute 250 officials - 150 of its own officers and 100 deputed from different enforcement agencies - to monitor candidate-related issues round the clock. It has also constituted financial intelligence units to ensure that there is no scope for any irregularities in the forthcoming elections. Given this background, intensified vigilance by the Income Tax Department on the information filed in the affidavits filed by the candidates comes as a serious concern for the contesting candidates.
