The state administration will ensure that the tech-savvy first-time voters and students act as watchdogs and prevent any violation of the model code of conduct or any illegal step taken by political parties to influence voters before the Assembly polls.

Jharkhand’s chief electoral officer Vinay Kumar Choubey on Sunday evening directed all deputy commissioners, who are also electoral officers in their respective districts, to conduct competitions among students to download the Android-based Citizen Vigilance cVIGIL app, developed by the Election Commission of India to fast-track complaints of model code violations, poll expenditure excesses and allurements to voters.

“We want mobile-savvy youngsters, including first-time voters, to not only responsibly elect good candidates, but also act as watchdogs against electoral malpractices by informing us of them through the cVIGIL app. We had seen the success of the app during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year,” said additional chief electoral officer K.N. Jha.

Jha added that for the Assembly polls, they wanted more youths to be directly involved in creating a culture of transparency.

“That’s why we asked the district administrations to conduct contests in educational institutions for students to download the app. District education officers have to send us a compliance report by November 10 on this,” Jha said.

A source in the office of the chief electoral officer said most deputy commissioners had started informing educational institutions about the contest to download the cVIGIL app.

“The DEOs have been advised to hold contests across districts in educational institutions and take the help of election campus ambassadors. The top three winners, who download the app in the fastest possible time in each district, will get a certificate and a gift,” said the source.

In Jharkhand, there are 2.27 crore voters of which 1.18 crore are male, 1.09 crore female and 248 transgender voters. Significantly, there are around 4.21 lakh young voters in the age group of 18-19 years. For most youngsters in this age band, downloading apps is a way of life.

Android phone users have to download the cVIGIL app from Google Play Store, fill in their mobile number, name and address and finally use the one-time password (OTP) received to activate the app. The app requires an Android smartphone equipped with a camera, a good Internet connection and GPS access to work.

The user can click/record proof of various violations of the model code and alleged electoral malpractices and send video clips and pictures through the app. The information will go straight to the respective district control room that will alert the flying squads who will reach the spot within the mandated 15 minutes. The district control room has to inform the complainant about the action taken within 100 minutes of the complaint.

Two firsts

Additional chief electoral officer Jha said senior citizens above 80 years and specially abled persons could vote through postal ballots from their homes, a first such step in Jharkhand’s poll history.

In another first, a queue management app will be launched in select Assembly constituencies. Voters who download the app can get updates on the length of the queue at their poll booth and plan their visit to the booth accordingly.