EC starts tracking high-value financial activities in TN ahead of polls

CHENNAI: In the backdrop of TN political parties starting election campaigns early, the Election Commission has instructed Chief Electoral Officer Sathyabrata Sahoo to start monitoring high-transaction banking activities and also check financial activities of defunct accounts.

The first round of coordination meeting with centralised agencies like CISF, IT, ED, RBI and bankers was recently held and poll officials are strengthening the network with central agencies to monitor cash movement, Election Department sources said. “We have asked banks to monitor defunct accounts and if there are any sudden suspicious transactions, such accounts will be tracked through RBI. Similarly, the CISF and Airports authority will be requested to share details of helicopters and private aircrafts used by people with political connections,” Sahoo told DT Next. He added that the idea behind the move was to create a level playing field for all contestants and account for poll-related expenditures of candidates.

The State will see a sharp increase in the number of Central observers and election expenditure observers and the intelligence collected from the squads will be shared with EC to strengthen action against cash for vote distribution, the CEO said.

Admitting that the poll campaign has started early this year, Sahoo added that the preliminary meetings required for the conduct of free and fair elections are over. “The EC has now started asking for periodic reports related to the poll preparedness and we have been instructed to increase the number of polling booths by 30,000,” he said. Secretariat sources said elections would likely be held early this year and the poll exercise work is likely to be completed by April.