Election Commission to curb attempts to invoke religion in electioneering: CEO Teeka Ram Meena

Election Commission will look into the individual cases of political parties invoking religion for electioneering, said Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena.

When asked about the possibility of Sabarimala issue once again becoming a hot political topic in the State, Mr. Meena said the Election Commission respects the culture and traditional practices prevailing in the State.

However, there is a ban on invoking religion for electioneering. Individual cases of political parties and fronts proposing legislations for Sabarimala and other places of worship and related issues will have to be looked into as and when the issue crops up, he said.

Mr. Meena said the political parties, who field candidates with criminal background, will have to explain why they chose the particular candidate. They will also be asked to explain whether candidates of clean track record were available in the party and the reasons for not fielding them. It’s by following the Supreme Court directive that the political parties are made to answer the question, he said.

Mr. Meena said the Commission will provide security for polling agents of political parties inside the booths. The polling agents, who know the voters closely, are the right persons to check bogus voting and hence they will be provided adequate security, he said.

All the officials in polling duty will be vaccinated against COVID-19. The election will be held by strictly observing the covid protocol, said the Chief Electoral Officer.