EC got 77k complaints on app, most from Rajasthan

The commission launched cVigil in 2019 to allow citizens to report rule violations of the Model Code of Conduct by candidates and political parties

More than a quarter of all complaints the Election Commission received on its cVigil app between November 2022 and November 2023 were from Rajasthan, according to the information shared by the poll overseer. During the 11 state assembly elections it conducted in this period, the commission received 77,623 complaints on cVigil, of which 21,152, or 27.25% of the complaints, were from Rajasthan.

Citizens can also complain to the district electoral officers about rule violations (HT archive)

The commission launched cVigil in 2019 to allow citizens to report rule violations of the Model Code of Conduct by candidates and political parties. When users report violations, their evidence in the form of photos or videos uploaded to the app is geo-tagged. Party-wise data was not collected by the app, a spokesperson said.

Citizens can also complain to the district electoral officers about rule violations. Political parties, too, regularly complain to the EC about MCC violations by other parties.

Almost two-thirds of complaints (62.27%) were reported when five states -- Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana -- went to polls in November. Of the 48,337 violations reported from these states, 83% were disposed of within 100 minutes. Only 17 complaints were received from Mizoram.