Lok Sabha Elections 2024: EC releases the “Know Your Candidate” App; find out how to see whether your nominee has ever been involved in criminal activity
In anticipation of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the Election Commission unveiled an enhanced version of Know Your Candidate (KYC) to provide voters with an additional means of examining the criminal records of candidates running in their respective seats.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar made the announcement of the app’s introduction on Saturday, the same day the vote timetable was announced. Kumar emphasized the need for voters to go beyond first impressions and explore their candidates’ biographies further, noting that the app might help with this.
The KYC app, which is compatible with both Android and iOS, is a big step in the right direction toward improving electoral accountability and transparency. By providing them with thorough information about candidates, it gives voters the ability to make educated voting selections.
Access to a candidate’s assets and liabilities as well as any criminal accusations against them are among the capabilities of the app. Candidates must reveal their criminal histories three times on television and in newspapers, and the parties supporting them must explain why they chose them over other candidates.
Speaking about the features of the app, Kumar emphasized how voters may use it to independently confirm the assets and liabilities of politicians with criminal histories. He emphasized that, particularly when there are alternative candidates available without similar histories, the parties nominating such persons must provide explicit reasons for their selections.
Official dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha Election
The ECI also revealed the calendar for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which would take place in seven stages from April 19 to June 1 and include June 4 counting. The announcement also included the debut of the KYC app.
The EC also disclosed intentions to hold simultaneous assembly elections for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha with the parliamentary elections. Notably, elections in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled for May 13, while those in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are scheduled for April 19. In addition, there will be by-elections for 26 Assembly seats in addition to the Lok Sabha elections.
