Jaipur, Oct 15: Talking tough, Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh today said every contestant for the upcoming assembly polls would have to file assets and statement of expenditure incurred on electioneering daily. The Election Commission would be very strict in this regard, said Lyngdoh, who along with two Election Commissioners T S Krishnamurthy and B B Tandon held three meetings with top Rajasthan government officials here to review poll arrangements

The candidate should have to attribute expenses incurred by anyone on his behalf and there would be no relaxation in this regard, he said adding the maximum limit of expenses by each candidate for the assembly polls is Rs six lakh. Any declaration about assets and money incurred on campaigning by a candidate would not be kept confidential and the Income Tax Department or any investigative agency could have an access to it, the CEC said.

Laws on disclosure of candidates' status and criminal records needed to be amended to enable the Election Commission to act effectively, he said.

On Ayodhya situation, he told reporters "I have nothing to say on this. During elections, there is less of religion and more of politics". During meetings with the state officials, the cec asked them to ensure strict compliance of model code of conduct for the assembly elections in the state.

Bureau Report