Here’s what happens if you accept bribe for votes from Political parties, candidates

Mangaluru: Bribing voters in exchange of their votes is a common malpractice during elections by political parties and candidates. The malpractice is seldom reported to the authorities and instead people tend to accept bribe in exchange of the votes.

Most of the voters are aware of the fact that it is illegal on the part of political parties and candidate to bribe voters for their votes. But what many don’t know is the fact that it is also illegal on part of voters to accept bribes from parties and candidates promising to cast their votes in their favour.

Yes, not just giving bribes to voters but accepting bribes for votes is a criminal offence in India and the violators are ought to be tried under criminal charges and shall punished with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Vartha Bharati met Election Returning Officer of Dakshina Kannada and Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil to get more information in this regard.

Speaking about the bribing of voters during election he said “Voting is a democratic right in our country and it is the duty of every citizen to use this right with utmost responsibility. Any kind of malpractice or bribery (both giving and taking) or any attempts to influence voters’ is a criminal offence and both the parties involved (in bribery) will be prosecuted under sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) including section 171 (B)”.

“Ethical voting is very important and is a duty of every citizen of the country. Parties and candidates try to influence voters not only through bribing or giving financial bounties but also on the lines of caste, religions and communities. Hence we all should make sure that votes are casted on right lines and not under any kind of influence” Senthil added.

Here’s what you can do if you are offered bribe for votes:

Advising people to report any such offers or attempts to influence their votes to the authorities Senthil said “In any scenario, if any political party or candidate makes a bribing offer to you or try to influence your votes in any way, voters should immediately report it to the authorities. We have our toll free helpline and people can reach us by simply dialing 1905 from their phones”.

“Another way to report such activities is cVigil App of Election Commission of India. People can also report such activities using pictures through this app and action will be initiated within 100 minutes of receiving the complaint” Senthil added while urging people to join the authorities in making sure free and fair elections in the constituency.

Election Commission of India had also tweeted urging people to assist ECI by reporting cases of bribery.

Assist #ElectionCommissionofIndia in ensuring free and fair elections.

Report cases of bribery on #cVIGIL app#YourVoteMatters pic.twitter.com/Qi2Tn5z5Tg

— ECI #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) April 6, 2019