Mysuru: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is stringently implementing the election Model Code of Conduct for the guidance of political parties and candidates. However, often times, political parties violate the poll conduct.

To keep the political parties in check, ECI introduced a mobile app ‘cVIGIL’, which stands for “citizens’ vigil”, on a pan-India level. The app was initially launched in 2018 and was put to test during the Assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.

The app allows people to record any violation of the code of conduct and send it to the relevant election authority. By using the cVIGIL app, citizens can record visuals on their Android mobile and promptly report any violation of code of conduct, any incident of intimidation or inducement within minutes of having witnessed them and without having to go to the Office of the Returning Officer.

The app allows any person to click a picture or record a 2- minute video in case there is a violation of the code of conduct. The photo or video then can be easily uploaded on the cVIGIL app. The app will then use the location services of the mobile device to automatically pin-point the location. Once the picture or the video is submitted, the citizen will get a Unique ID that will enable him to track and get updates on his mobile device. The citizen can report as many violations as possible.

There are also the chances of misuse of the app by the political parties to target the opposition. However, to check such misuse the app does not allow pre-recorded videos or old images to be uploaded. Also, once the image is clicked or the video is recorded, the app will  provide a window of only 5 minutes to the user to report the incident.

To respond to app-based complaints, a Control Room has been set up at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Mysuru. The details — photographs or videos — of the violation lands at the Control Room the moment they are uploaded on the app.

The citizen’s complaint is assigned to a Flying Squad team in the area, and it is expected to reach the spot within 15 minutes from the time of receipt of the complaint. After a preliminary inquiry by the team, a report is forwarded to the respective Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) through the cVIGIL investigator app. On the ARO’s response, the complainant will receive a message.

Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer Abhiram G. Sankar said he had constituted a cVIGIL monitoring team headed by an officer and having six members to assist him or her. If the complaint received through the app is found to be spot on, action will be taken within  100 minutes.