UP Assembly polls 23 Central state agencies to monitor flow of cash liquor freebies

Lucknow, Nov 12 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Election Commission has stepped up preparations to identify expenditure-sensitive constituencies ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, with 23 Central and state enforcement agencies tasked with keeping a strict watch on the movement and distribution of cash, liquor, narcotics and other inducements to voters.

    Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa on Thursday chaired a meeting with senior officials of the 23 enforcement agencies at Yojana Bhawan here. He directed them to stay alert and ensure coordinated action to prevent the use of money and inducements during the election.

    According to an official statement, the agencies have been asked to closely monitor the illegal transportation and distribution of cash, liquor, narcotic substances, precious metals and other items that could be used to influence voters.

    Special surveillance will also be maintained at check posts along international and inter-state borders.

    Authorities will keep a watch on unusual cash deposits and withdrawals from bank accounts and suspicious financial transactions, the statement said.

    The 23 agencies include the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, state and Central GST departments, Customs, Reserve Bank of India, police, excise, Railways, Forest, Transport, Sashastra Seema Bal and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

    Rinwa said expenditure-sensitive constituencies would be identified through an analysis of seizure data from the 2022 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, along with activities recorded during the past six months of the non-election period.

    Based on the analysis, constituencies would be categorised according to their sensitivity and appropriate monitoring mechanisms will be put in place.

    At the meeting, the Election Seizure Management System, a web portal developed by the Election Commission to ensure transparent and systematic recording of seizures during elections, was reviewed.

    Officials were directed to complete the onboarding of state and district nodal officers, as well as flying squad and static surveillance teams, and generate their login credentials within the stipulated timeframe.

    The CEO stressed the need for accurate entries on the portal, particularly regarding the quantity, unit of measurement and value of seized items.

    Rinwa directed all departments to nominate their senior-most officials as nodal officers and made their personal attendance at review meetings mandatory. Sending junior officials as representatives would not be acceptable, he said.

    Officials who attended the meeting also discussed the classification of data relating to inducements and freebies in accordance with the prescribed guidelines, besides issues concerning transit checks, border surveillance and coordination among agencies.

    To strengthen field-level monitoring, nine flying squad teams and nine static surveillance teams will be deployed in each Assembly constituency, Rinwa said.

    The teams will maintain continuous surveillance over activities that could influence election expenditure.

    The departments have been asked to submit the required data and reports within the stipulated deadline to ensure timely identification of expenditure-sensitive constituencies and deployment of expenditure observers.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)