In terms of seizures, the ECI said it recovered a record number of seizures, reaching almost ₹10,000 crore, which is nearly three times the value seized in 2019. "We have cracked down heavily on inducements in any form, a trend set since the state assembly elections in November-December 2022."

He says in line with its zero-tolerance policy on drugs, the ECI seized drugs worth ₹4,391 crore. "Over 90% of 495 major complaints disposed. Notices to several top leaders, FIR against many, and transfer of top officials to sanitise election space," says Kumar.

The Election Commission says around 4.56 lakh violations were received on cVigil during the MCC period, with the highest at 3.48 lakh regarding posters or banners without permission. cVIGIL is a mobile application developed by the EC to enable citizens to report violations of the Model Code of Conduct.

Besides, the commission leveraged technology to facilitate voters. "620 million searches have been requested on ECI Search Portals on poll day which retrieves information about voters’ polling booths & names on the electoral rolls."

To fight misinformation, the ECI says a collaborative approach was adopted including DMs, SPs, and field officers on the ground, along with initiatives like "myth vs reality register". "Except for a few cases, there weren't many instances of doctored, edited, or synthetically AI-generated content. ECI also issued advisories to parties for the ethical use of social media."

On Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's allegations that Home Minister Amit Shah called DMs/ROs (returning officers), the ECI issued a statement, saying no DM has reported any such undue influence as alleged by him. "As you are aware, the process of counting votes is a sacred duty cast upon every RO and such public statements by you tend to put an element of doubt." CEC Rajiv Kumar says it is not right to spread rumours and doubt all the DMs or ROs have been influenced.

CEC Rajiv Kumar

World record as 642 mn Indians cast votes in Lok Sabha Elections 2024, says CEC