For making the general elections 2019 free and fair to the core, the ECI has taken various measures. Besides strengthening and overhauling the existing ones which are normally pressed into action before any general election, this time there has been introduction of some IT-centric measures by way of mobile applications or apps, thanks to technology.

Tackling the violation of the Model Code of Conduct has been a headache for ECI since decades. Experience has shown that most of the time culprits managed to escape detection from flying squads entrusted to ensure enforcement of MCC due to delay in reporting of the incident(s). To add to the woes, lack of any documented & untampered evidence in the form of pictures or videos was a major hurdle in establishing the genuineness of a complaint. Moreover, a good percentage of reporting was false or inaccurate, which led to wastage of precious time of field units. And absence of a robust response system to quickly and accurately identify the scene of occurrence with the help of GIS details resulted in the late arrival of the election officers on the spot of offence.

But this time, these lacunae are expected to be blocked with the introduction of the new cVIGIL app by ECI which promises to be both user-friendly and easy to operate. It stands for Vigilant Citizen and emphasizes the proactive and responsible roles citizens can play in conduct of free and fair elections by reporting any MCC violation. It was earlier used in the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, but is making its debut in a grand scale now in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The uniqueness of the app is that it only allows live videos & photos with auto location capture from within the app to ensure digital evidence for flying squads to act upon in a time bound manner. All one needs is an android smartphone equipped with a camera, internet connection and GPS access. Connections of the citizens with district control room, returning officer and field units of flying squads & static surveillance teams will be with a single thread and there will be no need for rushing to the office of the returning officer to lodge complaints. The clicking of a picture or a 2 minute video of the activity violating MCC with a short description are thus the new arsenals to solidify the electoral democracy of the country.

But sadly, in spite of the inbuilt features to prevent its misuse, news about its misapplication have also started trickling in. It should be understood that it’s a serious issue and posting selfies and irrelevant photographs will only dampen the vibrancy of the greatest festival of democracy.