EC orders probe into activist’s allegations

nNEWDELHI: The Election Commission of India on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the Maharashtra chief electoral officer’s (CEO) selection of a particular company, with alleged links to BJP, in the run-up to the 2019 assembly elections. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya was unreachable for comment.

“Regarding tweet of Mr Gokhale @Saketgokhale, Commission has sought detailed factual report in this matter from CEO Maharashtra with respect to alleged locale of the incidence immediately,” the ECI spokesperson said.

The ECI’S decision came after a series of tweets by Saket Gokhale where he alleged that the CEO of Maharashtra appointed a company, Signpost India, which he alleged was empaneled by the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in 2017.

The CEO hired the company for the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation, better known as SVEEP. As part of the program, the Commission puts out advertisements on social media, in newspapers and hoardings to promote a healthy attitude among the electorate and encourage them to work.

According to a CEO in a northern state, each state can choose its own method to hire an agency. “Normally in the tender itself it is mentioned that the company should not be associated with any political party.”

“The procedure does not require approval from the Chief Election Commission or the Election Commission of India; in our state most of it is handled by the district level officers.” A CEO from a north-eastern state added that only the list of celebrities involved in the campaign has to be approved from Delhi.

Gokhale has alleged the demographic data of the electorate was at risk since a BJP officer bearer was involved. He also raised concerns about data privacy. “ECI uses very detailed demographic data. How do we know this wasn’t passed along to the BJP by one of its office bearers.

The Maharashtra BJP unit confirmed that Dave is a BJP member but said there was nothing wrong with him taking other contracts. Dave was not available for comment despite several attempts to reach him. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said it raised a serious issue regarding the functioning of an independent agency like the EC.