In reporting Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations, data show that Keralites are way ahead of people of other States this Lok Sabha election season. As per the latest data with the Election Commission of India (ECI), Kerala accounts for 66.66% of the complaints filed by the public via the ECI’s cVIGIL app.
Of the 3,55,584 complaints received nationally till 7.35 a.m. on Wednesday, Kerala alone accounts for 2,37,036. And this, when there are States with zero and single-digit complaints!
Karnataka and Uttarakhand, in second and third positions, have respectively 27,632 and 23,177 complaints in total, but nowhere close to Kerala’s tally.
Mizoram is at the bottom of the list with zero complaints filed using cVIGIL, a user-friendly and easy-to-operate app that the public can download and use to report violations.
Other States near the top of the list include Andhra Pradesh (13,804), West Bengal (13,483), Tamil Nadu (5,476), Odisha (4,892), Uttar Pradesh (4,749), Madhya Pradesh (3,826), Maharashtra (3,449), and Gujarat (3,117).
The data pertain to violations reported since March 16, when the ECI formally announced the Lok Sabha polls.
Sanjay Kaul, Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala), attributed Kerala’s top position on the list to the higher political awareness of the people and the deeper social media penetration in the southern State, the wide publicity given to the cVIGIL app, and prompt action taken on such complaints by his team.
“Majority of the complaints - about 80% - deal with the unauthorised use of posters, flags, and banners. We’ve disposed of 2.36 lakh of the complaints,” Mr. Kaul told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Property defacement accounts for the second largest segment in the model code violations in Kerala. Other complaints pertain to the illegal distribution of money, liquor and gifts, display of weapons, hate speech, and use of loudspeakers beyond the authorised hours.
In a way, it is befitting that Keralites are ahead in keeping a close watch on MCC violations. It was Kerala which introduced the idea of a model code for political parties during the 1960 Assembly elections.
“A draft code was voluntarily approved by the representatives of the leading political parties of the State at a meeting specially convened for the purpose by the State government. This code covered, in detail, important aspects of electioneering, like meetings and processions, speeches and slogans, posters and placards,” the ECI has noted in the preface to its MCC manual.
Two years later, during the 1962 Parliament elections and polls held simultaneously to various State Assemblies, the ECI circulated that code among the recognised political parties, “and it proved to be effective in conducting election campaigns in a peaceful and orderly atmosphere in the country”, the ECI noted.
Of the 3,55,584 complaints from all States and UTs using cVIGIL, 3,55,068 have been disposed of. Of this, 3,21,445 were disposed of within 100 minutes of filing the complaint.
