Maharashtra polls: Anyone using terms like ‘vote jihad’ will not be spared, says EC

Hours after the code of conduct came into force, the chief electoral officer said that he will not spare anyone using the term ‘vote jihad’ for en bloc voting

MUMBAI: Hours after the code of conduct came into force, chief electoral officer (CEO) S Chockalingam said that they will not spare anyone using the term ‘vote jihad’ for en bloc voting by a specific community. He said that action would be taken for using such terms within the legal framework and a report would be sent to the Election Commission of India.

S Chockalingam, Chief Electoral officer of Maharashtra. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Bharatiya Janata Party had termed the en block voting by Muslim community in favour of opposition in the last Lok Sabha elections as “vote jihad.” BJP leaders like Kirit Somaiya and NiItesh Rane had presented figures from polling booths in Muslim-dominated areas where the opposition candidates had fared well. When asked whether any action would be taken against such actions, the CEO said that they have not received any complaints about the matter.

“The code of conduct for the Assembly polls was announced yesterday and the monitoring committee has come into effect now. There was no question of taking cognisance of such terms before. If somebody tends to use the term (now), we will take cognisance and nobody will be spared. We will report such instances to the ECI and action will be taken within the legal framework,” said Chockalingam.

Kiran Kulkarni, additional CEO, said that they will seek legal guidance in such cases.

The state branch of the ECI has taken cognisance of the government resolutions related to announcement of schemes and sops issued after the model code of conduct came into effect. “The rules say that no GR can been issued after the beginning of the press conference of the chief election commissioner to announce the elections. This means government should not have issued GRs after 3.30pm on Tuesday. We had informed them about it. If GRs are issued after announcement of the election, we will take action,” Kulkarni said.

He added that adding beneficiaries to welfare schemes like Ladki Bahin after the announcement of the election is not allowed.

After the warning, the state government withdrew more than 100 GRs uploaded after 3.30pm on Tuesday. “The GRs have been removed from the website as a matter of precaution. They may be uploaded again after reviewing whether they lead to inducement of voters or not. The number of GRs dropped to 247 on Wednesday from 358 on Tuesday,” an official from Mantralaya said.

Addressing the media, Chockalingam also said that they have been taking measures to address the urban apathy towards voting in cities like Mumbai. He said that as per the direction from the ECI, the state branch of the poll body has rationalised the polling booths, bringing down the number of voters per booth. “We have also increased booths, taking the number to 100186 from 96653 in the last Lok Sabha elections. Besides reducing polling booths in few stations in Mumbai, we have directed the election officers to allow four voters at a time to avoid delay in the voting process. In LS polls, at some booths, only one voter was let in, leading to delay,” Chockalingam said.

During the Lok Sabha polls, several polling booths were over crowded and voters had to wait for hours to exercise their franchise. Many had to return home without voting.

The CEO has sent a proposal to relax the restrictions on the use of phones in booths. He said that they have proposed relaxation on the restriction of keeping mobile phones 100 metres away from the booth, and allow it to be deposited outside the booth. “The relaxation is subject to the approval from the ECI,” he added.