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Journalism of Courage
Striving to curb the rampant use of money power in poll-bound Gujarat,the Election Commission has tagged about 50 of the 182 Assembly seats in the cash-rich state as 8220;expenditure-sensitive8221; constituencies where cash may be used to decisively influence results.
At a meeting on Tuesday afternoon with representatives of various government departments including those from Gujarat,the poll body gave shape to its strategy for dealing with the problem. The meeting,according to sources,identified officials from the revenue service,income-tax and excise departments who will act as nodal authorities along with police and other local authorities in preventing use of money power.
We have placed Gujarat at par with states like Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where money power has normally played a significant role in elections, said a senior EC official on Tuesday. In our assessment,between 25 to 30 per cent of the constituencies in Gujarat can be classified as expenditure sensitive, he added.
Keeping a close watch on the phenomenon of paid news,the EC had last month re-issued a set of guidelines aimed at checking instances of newspaper and television advertising in the garb of news.
The EC move comes even as two NGOs promoting electoral reforms and transparency revealed on Monday that political parties had amassed a staggering Rs 4,662 crore in the last seven years with the Congress raking in Rs 2,008 crore and the BJP Rs 994 crore.
Yet,when it comes to spending,each candidate has officially shown expenditure of less than half of the Rs 16 lakh limit set by the EC.
Elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh,most probably in two phases,are expected to be held in the second week of December and an announcement may be made by the EC early next month.
