In a bid to empower voters with crucial information ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday announced the launch of a new mobile application named ‘Know Your Candidate’ (KYC). The app aims to provide voters with insights into the criminal background, assets, and liabilities of electoral candidates standing in their respective constituencies.

“We have come up with a new mobile application that will enable voters to find out if a candidate, who is bidding to represent them in the Lok Sabha, has a criminal background. The application is called ‘Know Your Candidate’ or ‘KYC’,” Kumar said at a press conference called to announce the poll schedule.

The CEC noted that voters have the right to know about the criminal records, if any, of candidates from their constituencies, as well as their assets and liabilities.

“With this application, voters can independently verify the information regarding candidates’ criminal records and financial status. It is crucial for voters to make informed decisions,” he added.

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The Election Commission stressed that political parties nominating candidates with a criminal background would be required to provide a rationale for their selection. Candidates themselves would also be mandated to disclose their criminal history, which would be published in newspapers and broadcast on television three times.

“Candidates with a criminal record are required to publish or make public this information in newspapers on television thrice,” the poll panel chief added.

“The parties giving tickets to such tainted candidates have to explain why they chose them over other, more deserving, claimants. They have to clearly state the basis of selection of a candidate with a criminal background,” Kumar said.

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The Know Your Candidate (KYC) app is available for download on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Some of the features of the Know Your Candidate app:

• It allows voters to search for candidates by their names.
• It displays information about the candidate’s criminal antecedents, if any.
• It provides information about the status of any criminal cases filed against the candidate.
• It shows the nature of the offences that the candidate has been accused of.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases starting from April 19. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.