Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly Election is underway and voting will be held on May 10. On the one hand, the rebellion of the political leaders in the state, and on the other hand, the Election Commission had a digital eye to focus on the actions and words of the leaders. Yes, the Election Commission of India has introduced an app, cVIGIL, through which the public can file a complaint with the commission. So far 6711 complaints have been registered through the app.
Most of the complaints through cVIGIL are about putting up banners without permission, and complaints about gifts, money, and distribution of alcohol have also been lodged. The Election Commission stated in a press release that flying squads and police officers have so far registered 1348 FIRs in this regard.
Yes, open campaigning stopped on May 8 from 6.00 pm. May 9 only door to door campaign is allowed. With only one day left for the election, there is a possibility of further submissions, and the cVIGIL has received a huge response.
On May 8 alone, 541 complaints were registered in the state. 640 complaints registered last week, 541 on May 7, 106 May 9, BBMP North 365, BBMP Central 146, BBMP South 99, Bangalore Rural 48, and Bangalore City 690 complaints.
The Election Commission of India had announced the dates for the Karnataka Elections 2023 on March 29. The Karnataka state will hold a single-phase election on May 10 and the results will be announced on May 13. With this declaration, the model code of conduct was implemented in the state. At the same time, the party leaders were warned not to give any cash, freebies or anything to attract favourable votes from the citizens.
Citizens can file complaints using the cVIGIL app, where they can shoot videos or capture photos of the act, to file complaints against parties or individuals who violate the model code of conduct. After this they can be uploaded to the app instantly. In this way, it will provide crucial evidence to the Election Commission to disqualify the guilty contestants.
How to use cVIGIL app?
1. Using the cVIGIL app, people can take a picture of a candidate or his supporters handing over money or gifts to the citizens of the constituency to gain votes.
2. Along with photo/video, the app also captures the exact geo location with longitudes and spot latitudes.
3. After the citizen uploads the multimedia content along with the complaint on the app there is a possibility that the flying squad will arrive at the exact location to take the code violators into police custody.
4. In most cases, EC flying squad can reach the spot on time if given proper information.
5. Criminals can be caught and convicted with evidence (uncountable gifts / cash).
6. With cVIGIL app, users can also track MCC violation case status.
7. Users can call National Contact Centre at 1800111950 or State Contact Centre at 1950 for other complaints.