ECI directs all political parties to cease enrolling/ registering voters for postelection beneficiary-oriented schemes under the guise of surveys

ECI directs all political parties to cease enrolling/ registering voters for postelection
beneficiary-oriented schemes under the guise of surveys
Potential of quid pro quo for voting and inducements amounts to
bribery/corrupt practice
The Election Commission of India has taken a serious view of activities by political
parties and candidates seeking details of voters under the guise of various surveys
for their proposed beneficiary schemes, as a corrupt practice of bribery under
Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. It has noted that,
“some political parties and candidates have been engaging in activities that
blur the lines between legitimate surveys and partisan efforts to register
individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes”.
The Commission, while noticing various instances in the ongoing General Elections
2024, has issued an advisory today (Link: https://www.eci.gov.in/ecibackend/
public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjY
NJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FztfbUTpXSxLP8g7dpVrk7%2FRgJnWIFoi%2FHESbtsL%
2FSFvsIWBm5CVW8P%2FiquKm95vYSdOFtn933icz0MOeiesxvsQ%3D%3D ) to all
national and state political parties to immediately cease and desist from any
activities that involve registering individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented
schemes through any advertisements/ survey/App.
The Commission said the act of inviting/calling upon individual electors to register
for post-election benefits may create an impression of the requirement of one-toone
transactional relationship between the elector and the proposed benefit and has
the potential to generate quid-pro-quo arrangement for voting in a particular way
thereby leading to inducement.
The Commission while acknowledging that generic and general electoral promises
are in the realm of permissibility, noted that such activities as mentioned in table
below obscure the distinction between authentic surveys and biased attempts to
enrol people in programs for political gain, all while masquerading as legitimate
survey activities or efforts to inform about government programs or party agendas
related to potential individual benefits.
The Commission has directed all District Election Officers to take appropriate actions
against any such advertisements within the statutory provisions namely Section 127A
of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, 123 (1) of the Representation of
People’s Act, 1951, and Section 171 (B) IPC.
Table 1:
1. Newspaper advertisements calling upon individual voters to register
themselves for benefits by giving missed calls on a mobile or calling on a
telephone number.
2. Distribution of guarantee cards in the form of pamphlets giving details of
prospective individual benefits along with an attached form asking for
details of voters such as name, age, address, mobile number, booth
number, constituency name & number etc.
3. Distribution of forms seeking details of voters such as name, ration card
number, address, phone number, booth number, bank account number,
constituency name & number etc. in the name of socio-economic survey of
prospective beneficiaries for expanding an ongoing government individual
benefit scheme.
4. Circulation or propagation of web platforms or web /mobile application
by political parties/ candidates seeking details of voters such as name,
address, phone number, booth number, constituency name & number etc.
(This may or may not have an invitation for availing individual benefits or
revealing their voting preference).
5. Newspaper advertisements or physical forms regarding existing individual
benefit schemes along with registration form seeking details of the voter
such as name, husband/father’s name, contact number, address etc.
Anuj