Taking serious note of several instances of political leaders resorting to personal attacks on their rivals during the recently held Assembly elections as well as provocative speeches reportedly made
Taking serious note of several instances of political leaders resorting to personal attacks on their rivals during the recently held Assembly elections as well as provocative speeches reportedly made by some Union ministers and MPs in the runup to the polls, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday flagged the issue of “hate speeches” and plunging standards of political discourse during campaigning with several political parties.
In a closed-door meeting held by the EC, political parties accepted that the matter was serious enough to be looked into.
“This (hate speech) is one of the issue that we had flagged for the ongoing Assembly polls in five states. All political parties have supported and have suggested and have committed that they will ensure that the upcoming elections are conducted with highest standards and decency and with decorum. The commission is assured by all these political parties. We have also urged and appealed to them,” chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi later told reporters after the meeting.
The EC had also taken up the issue of “provocative advertisements” in newspapers in an apparent reference to certain BJP ads which appeared in Bihar newspapers during the Assembly elections there.
However, a majority of the total six national parties which were present in the meeting as well as 49 regional parties, opposed the suggestion of the poll panel to hike security deposit for contesting candidates and seeking a “no dues” certificate from parties operating from government accommodations.
At present, a candidate has to deposit a security of Rs 10,000 for the Assembly polls and Rs 25,000 for the Lok Sabha polls, which is forfeited in case the contestant gets less that one-sixth of the votes polled.
There were also divergent views on the use of “totaliser”, a machine which mixes votes from various polling stations and which the EC feels would further protect voters’ identity during counting of votes.
The poll panel is of the view that the use of “totaliser” will bring more secrecy in voting and the mixing of votes at the time of counting will be achieved, which will prevent the disclosure of pattern of voting at a particular polling station, Mr Zaidi said.
While some like CPI’s Atul Anjan and BSP’s Satish Mishra supported the idea, most were of the view that knowing the voting pattern was the “right” of a candidate.
They said voting pattern also helps political parties to improve on their strengths and work on weak areas.
During the meeting, the EC also took up the issue of “indirect campaigning” in areas which go to polls in a multi-phased election.
