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Election Commission reactivates MDCEI after six years to curb inducements in Bihar polls.
Seventeen departments including RBI, ED, and NCB to coordinate election enforcement.
EC calls for intelligence-sharing and cooperation for free and fair elections in Bihar.
The Election Commission has reactivated its Multi-Departmental Committee on Election Intelligence (MDCEI) after a gap of six years to curb the use of money, liquor, and drugs to influence voters ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, PTI reported.
The MDCEI met on Friday for the first time since 2019 to coordinate the strategy of enforcement agencies and central police forces in preventing the use of cash and freebies to sway voters, PTI reported. The committee was originally formed in 2014 ahead of that year’s general elections and met regularly before the 2019 polls, but has not convened formally since then.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi attended the meeting. Officials said the gathering aimed to prepare a comprehensive roadmap to counter the effects of cash and other inducements in elections, PTI reported.
The committee comprises 17 departments, including the Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Enforcement Directorate, Department of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Financial Intelligence Unit – India, Reserve Bank of India, Indian Banks’ Association, Narcotics Control Bureau, Railway Protection Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Airports Authority of India, and the Department of Posts.
During the meeting, agencies briefed the commission on their preparations, measures taken so far, and proposed actions to ensure elections remain free from inducements. The Election Commission emphasised the need for cooperation and sharing of intelligence on economic offences among law enforcement agencies for effective enforcement, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI)
