Summary:
Mr.
Jayaram feels intelligence gathering by the Election Commission should be improved so that searches could be conducted early and cash seized from candidates or their associates. “The draft formulation drawn up in this regard has been circulated to all stakeholders for their final vetting,” he had said. “In the present system, a candidate who secures less than 20% of the total votes polled can win. “Until the cases for electoral offences are over, the polls should not be held,” he contends. Arappor Iyakkam convenor Jayaram Venkatesan says it was high time the Representation of People Act, 1951, was amended to include provisions to disqualify candidates found guilty of bribing voters by the Election Commission..