A whopping 878 complaints of violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct were filed by residents of Pune, Baramati, Maval and Shirur till April 13 since it came into effect on March 10. The complaints were filed using the cVigil app of the Election Commission and have all been disposed of.
Pune District Collector and Returning officer Naval Kishore told the Indian Express, “The cVIGIL app is meant for vigilant citizens. It lays stress on a responsible role to be played by citizens at the time of elections to ensure smooth, free and fair conduct of polls.”
According to Resident Deputy Collector Jayshree Kataria, “There are no serious cases of violations, like distribution of money, serving of liquor or provocative speeches, reported on the cVIGIL app so far. Until now the code violation complaints have been restricted to minor cases, like boards and banners (put up by) political parties that have not been covered.”
Pune led the pack with 314 complaints followed by Bramati with 242, Maval with 205 and Shirur with 117.