Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has stepped up preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections, with authorities accelerating the identification of Expenditure Sensitive Constituencies (ESCs) and strengthening surveillance against the illegal distribution of cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other inducements to voters.
Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa chaired a meeting with senior officials of 23 enforcement agencies of the Central and state governments at Yojana Bhawan in Lucknow. He directed the agencies to remain alert and coordinate closely to ensure free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections.
Rinwa said preventing the use of money power and voter inducements was among the Election Commission of India’s top priorities. He called for intensive checks at international and interstate border checkpoints, along with monitoring of suspicious financial transactions, including unusually large cash deposits and withdrawals from bank accounts.
The 23 agencies, including Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate, GST, Customs, RBI, police, excise, Railways, transport, forest and the Sashastra Seema Bal, will jointly monitor election expenditure and illegal activities.
To identify sensitive constituencies, authorities will analyse seizure data from the 2022 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, along with information on suspicious activities during the preceding six-month non-election period.
The meeting also reviewed preparations for the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS), a web portal developed by the Election Commission to record and monitor seizures. Officials were instructed to complete the onboarding of state and district nodal officers and Flying Squad Teams (FSTs) and Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) within the stipulated timeframe. Accurate entries, including the quantity, measurement units and value of seized materials, were emphasised to prevent discrepancies and duplicate records.
Rinwa said each Assembly constituency would have nine FSTs and nine SSTs to maintain continuous surveillance of activities that could influence election expenditure. The teams will work in coordination with enforcement agencies to ensure prompt legal action.
He also directed departments to submit detailed reports on previous seizures, border-area activities and operational challenges. Senior-level nodal officers must personally attend review meetings and present their departments’ action plans.
The meeting further discussed monitoring the transportation of suspicious goods, classification of freebies and inducements, and coordination among GST, Customs, Railways and transport authorities.
The CEO said the identification of expenditure-sensitive constituencies and deployment of expenditure observers must be completed in time to ensure effective monitoring ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=RtToJsBhYBatUrym&v=mOuYNSdhjHA&feature=youtu.be
