‘I have no hope from state govt or political candidates’

Over six lakh posters banners flex boards decorative ribbons etc were removed or crossmarked with black paint for violations of the model code of conduct in the Thrissur district Interestingly Thrissur is witnessing a strong electoral battle among the three strong contenders mdashMalayalam actor cum politician Suresh Gopi of the BJP K Muraleedharan of Congress and CPI candidate V S Sunil KumarAccording to officials from the district election administration ldquoThe antidefacement squad under the district election administration has removed candidate posters banners flex boards writing on walls decorative ribbons etc displayed or pasted on public or government property including acting on complaints received from a few private property owners for violations of the model code of conductrdquoPosters of parties crossed out for violating of the code of conductWhen asked about the numbers the official said ldquoThe squad has removed a total of 690521 items crossmarked with black paint which include 687998 postersbannersflex boards displayed on electric poles bus stands government properties etc with an additional 2523 complaints received from private property owners for using their premises without permissionrdquoldquoThe 247 control room monitored the cVigil mobile application of the ECI for registering online complaints by alert citizens It received thousands of complaints pertaining to violations of the model code of conduct and over 10000 complaints have already been redressedrdquo said an election official from the districtUpon asking if any fine was imposed the official replied in the negative stating that a decision on the matter would be taken by the appropriate authority including any fines to be levied on the concerned party after the elections on April 26Constituency factsThrissur is one of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala There 13 Assembly constituencies in the Thrissur district of which seven are in the Thrissur constituency and remaining six is divided equally between the Alathur and Chalakudy constituenciesPlenty of women votersThrissur district has around 2667000 registered voters of which 1274000 are male 1392965 are female and 35 are transgender individuals whereas 58000 firsttime voters are registered in the district The Thrissur constituency consists of 1483 lakh voters of which 708 lakh are male 774 lakh are women and 20 are transgender individuals The number of firsttime voters registered is 34000Polling boothsThrissur district has 2325 polling booths with 48 deemed critical The constituency comprises 1281 booths of which 29 are critical Regarding security arrangements the official stated ldquoAdditional security personnel including state and Central policeparamilitary forces will be deployed at critical police stations All polling booths will have CCTV coverage with one manned entirely by youth and fifteen by female officials and staffrdquoYouths joblessAnoop T B runs a small eatery and general store named lsquoThachuparambilrsquo attached to his house in Madakkathara Thrissur district Like many youths in his village Anoop was earning a decent salary working in the Gulf However after the COVID19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown he like many others returned to their villages in Kerala and has been without a job since then says Anoop Previously Anoop worked as a mechanic in Kuwait earning a monthly salary of over R30000 Today he struggles to earn around R4000 to R5000 a month and finds it difficult to run his eatery and support his family including elderly parentsOn electionAnoop said ldquoI have no hope from the state government or political candidates None of them provide help when needed the most Moreover the state government has stopped giving the monthly pension and has yet to clear the last five months of dues which used to be the only source of income for hundreds of senior citizens and widowsrdquocVIGIL mobile appThe cVIGIL mobile app addresses the need for swift reporting of MCC violations Delays in reporting have allowed culprits to evade detection by election commission squads cVIGIL enables citizens to report violations promptly It stands for vigilant citizen emphasising citizensrsquo proactive role in ensuring fair elections With cVIGIL citizens can report violations such as bribery and loudspeaker misuse by capturing photos or videos The election machinery responds promptly to each case within a 100minute timeline ensuring swift actionCurrent Issues1 Citizens lack channels for promptly reporting live incidents resulting in culprits escaping before action squads arrive2 Delayed reporting of model code of conduct MCC violations has allowed culprits to evade capture3 Lack of pictorial or video evidence hinders complaint verification leading to wasted time for field verification units due to false or inaccurate reporting4 The absence of a robust response system impedes election officers ability to quickly and accurately identify crime spots hindering the apprehension of violatorsBenefits of the Application1 cVIGIL is a userfriendly app enabling citizens to submit pictorial evidence of moral code of conduct violations2 Reported incidents are tracked and scrutinised from start to finish enhancing accountability3 The immediate location verification feature acts as a deterrent for wrongdoers facilitating their tracking4 These features encourage citizens to monitor electoral practices aiding the Election Commission in conducting free and fair elections6 lakhApprox no of posters banners etc removed in Thrissur district