‘Paying for bills, repair work current methods to buy votes’

Cops have stepped up vigil on political parties to curb attempts to influence voters

Methods of winning voters have now changed from providing cash to potential voters to other intangible forms of wooing, which includes taking care of shopping bills and repairing basic infrastructure in several localities just ahead of the elections, police sources said. As the Assembly elections draw closer, the Mumbai police have stepped up their vigilance on activities of political party workers to check for attempts to ‘buy’ votes.

The police, however, have discovered that over the last few years, distribution of hard cash has been replaced by more covert methods, which have made it harder for the police to detect and penalise such activities.

According to the police, the ‘wooing’ for votes is a task that is delegated to select, trusted party workers by candidates, and each worker has a particular area within the constituency.

“Earlier, cash used to be distributed a day or two before the day of polling. However, these strategies are now planned and executed much before the polling occurs. To start with, candidates repair roads or pavements in localities where their voter-base resides. If a residential society has a garden or a park within its compound, it is suddenly beautified or provided with some new facilities,” said a senior officer with the Mumbai police.

The other method that has been observed over the years is taking care of shopping or hotel bills. Certain hotels in each locality, which are popular and are frequented by a large number of residents, are identified and an understanding is reached with the owners. If a customer takes a particular person’s name or mentions some other such codeword, his bills are sent to the party workers. A similar arrangement is also made with owners of major stores in the area, where either bills are taken care of or discounts given.

Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni confirmed that incidents of distribution of cash have gone down. “Over the last few years, we have observed that cash distribution only occurs in slum pockets, where people need cash for their basic needs, while methods, that are difficult to detect, are used in other areas. We can only take action if someone is caught in the act of handing over cash, and the latest trend minimises this risk for miscreants,” he said. In a press briefing Wednesday, Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria had said that certain slum pockets, where cash distribution was likely, had been identified and were being watched by the police, while the Crime Branch has been instructed to keep tabs on known hawala operators in the city.

gautam.mengle@expressindia.com

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