The Election Commission of India has reactivated its economic intelligence panel after six years to curb the use of money, alcohol and drugs to influence voters ahead of the Bihar polls. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Election Commission of India has reactivated its economic intelligence panel after six years to curb the use of money, alcohol and drugs to influence voters ahead of the Bihar polls.
On Friday, October 17, the Multi-Departmental Committee on Election Intelligence (MDCEI) met in New Delhi for the first time since 2019 to fine-tune the strategy of law enforcement agencies and central police forces to prevent the use of money and discretion to influence voters in the poll-bound state.
The committee was formed in 2014 ahead of this year’s general election. Officials said the panel met before the 2014 to 2019 elections, but not formally since then. Heads of agencies and security forces continued to discuss ways to control money power. Friday’s meeting was the first larger one after the gap.
The meeting was attended by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
The committee includes 17 departments and agencies: Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Directorate of Law Enforcement, Directorate of Tax Intelligence, Central Bureau of Economic Intelligence, Indian Financial Intelligence Unit, Reserve Bank of India, Association of Indian Banks, Narcotics Control Bureau, Railway Protection Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force, Border Security Force, Balvima Border Police Security, Airports Authority of India and Ministry of Posts.
The meeting focused on preparing a comprehensive plan to deal with the use of cash and other incentives in elections.
Elections without incentives
The agencies informed the Commission about their preparedness, measures taken and proposed steps to ensure election free of incitement.
The Election Commission of India has directed that there should be greater cooperation and intelligence sharing between law enforcement agencies on economic crimes to enable effective action.
Published – 19 Oct 2025 21:36 IST
