Even as Tamil Nadu was gearing up for the April 23 polling, cash and goods worth Rs 28.23 crore have been seized till date by Flying squads and static surveillance teams across the state, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik said on Tuesday.
The ECI has formed 321 teams of observers, including General observers, police observers and expenditure observer teams for the Tamil Nadu elections.
In a press release here, Ms Archana Patnaik cited the Election Expenditure Monitoring and enforcement measures put in place in Tamil Nadu and said the meticulous monitoring and accounting of candidates’ election expenditure are being undertaken with the primary objective of ensuring fairness for all contesting candidates, irrespective of whether they represent recognized political parties or contest as independent candidates.
As per the prescribed norms, a candidate contesting in an Assembly election is permitted to incur election-related expenditure up to a maximum limit of Rs 40 lakh.
To effectively monitor such expenditure, a robust multi-tier election expenditure monitoring mechanism has been established at the district level under the supervision of the respective District Election Officers.
She said in order to ensure stringent enforcement, all 234 Assembly Constituencies in Tamil Nadu have been equipped with dedicated surveillance teams, including Flying Squads and Static Surveillance
Teams. A total of 25 Election Expenditure Monitoring Agencies such as the Income Tax Department, Customs Department and others are also engaged in Monitoring and surveillance.
At present, across all constituencies, 2,160 Flying Squads, 2,160 Static Surveillance Teams (each constituency having 9 Flying Squads and 9 Static Surveillance Teams), are actively engaged in intensive monitoring operations throughout the State, Archana Patnaik said.
To facilitate public participation in ensuring free and fair elections, District Election Control Rooms have been established in all districts. Complaints received from the public are being promptly acted upon. The District Election Officers are also closely monitoring adherence to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by all stakeholders.
A total of 1.68 lakh defacements have been removed as on date and in 61 FIRs have been registered, with further legal action under progress.
With regard to MCC provisions statues of deceased leaders need not be covered. However, photographs of politically active leaders displayed in public places or government buildings must be covered immediately upon enforcement of the MCC, she added
Further, it is clarified that in cases where individuals including members of the public, political party representatives, candidates, or traders are found carrying cash and If valid documentary evidence or written explanation is provided regarding the source and intended purpose of the funds. Upon verification, if the authorities are satisfied that the cash is not meant for distribution to voters, such amounts will be returned to the rightful owner and will not be seized.