New Delhi: To check electoral malpractices, including misuse of money, the Election Commission today appointed special observers for Friday's election for 18 Rajya Sabha seats from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha and West Bengal.
The Commission has appointed one special observer for each of these states.
While the Chief Electoral Officers of the respective states will be observers in their own states, the special observers now appointed are Chief Electoral officers of other states. The special observers will keep a close watch on electoral malpractices, including the role of money power.
"In case specific complaints are received, the same will promptly be looked into. The observers will also keep constant watch on the news and media reports related to biennial election to the Council of States, 2014. In case of any electoral malpractices, the same will be brought to the notice of the Commission," the Commission said today.
The Commission has also directed Director Investigation (Income Tax) of the concerned states to keep a strict and vigilant watch on the role of money power and other influences.
"After completion of election, a report will also be furnished by the special observers to the Commission," the EC said.
The appointment of special observers had become necessary after the experience of the last biennial election in Jharkhand when the Commission had to cancel the poll after misuse of money power came to light with recovery of a huge amount of unaccounted cash for alleged distribution among MLAs to seek their votes.
While the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat will be the special observer in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the CEO of Tripura will be special observer for the state of Assam, Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka for Odisha state and Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh for the state of West Bengal for the forthcoming poll.
While there are six Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, there are three seats in Assam, four in Odisha and five in West Bengal.