Shun candidates with shady past, says CEC

The CEC said, "As an individual I am not also very sure that anti-defection law is being applied as it is made."

Gill maintained that provisions under Section eight of Representation of People Act, 1951, which bars people convicted for specified offences from contesting elections, would be applied "correctly and effectively" to check criminalisation of politics.

The Commission, he said, had already put into force the provisions of this law by ensuring that candidates for recent Rajya Sabha polls, including a Union Minister, had furnished an affidavit about their background.

Meanwhile, in an interview to Eenadu Television, to be broadcast on Monday, Gill ruled out the possibility of the commission pressing the use of electronic voting machines in the coming general elections.

He said the commission has decided to go ahead with simultaneous elections to assemblies in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghayala. While Assembly polls in Nagaland are due by March 17 next, elections in Meghalaya are to be held by March one and in Tripura by May 17.

The CEC was non-committal about use of voter identity cards saying that the commission was yet to take a final decision on the issue. Of the estimated 600 million voters, nearly 400 million have been covered so far, he said.Replying to questions, Gill said that electronic voting machines worth about Rs 75 crore were "bought some years ago" and that they were used in some places. Their use is doubtful in this election, he informed.