Election panel increases scrutiny of parties’ spending on SMS/voice call campaigns

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stepped up scrutiny of SMS and voice call campaigns by political parties, said people with knowledge of the matter. The poll panel is also in discussions with telcos to trace the trail of spending on these campaigns through telemarketers, aggregators and other participants in the value chain as it seeks to ensure that election expenditure limits aren’t breached.

Phone companies may need help to obtain all the information that’s required. “We are trying to figure out how this could be implemented,” said one of the executives involved in the discussions. “The audit trail of all commercial messaging and calls can be tracked up to the last mile, thanks to the blockchain-based system that telecom companies have deployed for enterprise messaging. But for us to seek sensitive financial details of such deals from other participants, an official directive must come from ECI.”