Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj an interview with The Hindu in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: G. RAMAKRISHNA
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj has set up an integrated command and control centre on his office premises to monitor the election process and violations of model code of conduct (MCC), if any.
Integrating latest technologies with the election process, the control room is a collaborative work space where the CEO reviews the situation in all the 119 constituencies for taking timely decisions based on real-time information sent by ground-level teams. If necessary, the officer will also consult with the Election Commission of India. The facility would function round the clock till the election is completed.
The control room would monitor seizures; code violations; complaints received by the 1950 call centre; flying squads; and static surveillance teams among others. Notably, the election authority also decided to supervise the functioning of 18 distilleries and six breweries across the State. Vigil on the inter-State borders and complaints received via mails were also included among tasks of the control room.
The officials deputed to staff the facility were monitoring 15 satellite channels and three YouTube channels. The new control room is in addition to those managed at district and returning officer level.
The CEO said that though the election authority made every effort to ensure a free, fair and transparent election, there were myriad challenges such as violence; caste and religion-based issues; booth capturing, disinformation; cyber threats; low voter turnout; hate speeches; character assassination; and offers of inducements that demanded a centralised controlling system.
Therefore, the control room was set up as a tool to effectively coordinate the functioning of various agencies engaged in the election process.
The election authority had already set up an electronic media monitoring centre, which examined 2,217 complaints relating to MCC violations, seizures, political advertisements on TV channels and others.
This is in addition to the social media monitoring cell, comprising police/IT personnel, to address fake news/misinformation against EVMs, poll process, ECI and CEO.
