By IANS
New Delhi : The Election Commission Saturday said all steps would be taken to check liquor smuggling from neighbouring Goa to Karnataka that is going to the assembly elections in May.
“Election Observers have been instructed to look out for possibility of liquor flow from Goa and from within the state of Karnataka during the elections,” Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswamy told reporters here.
“Political parties have complained that breweries in Goa have overwhelming orders and are working overtime to meet the demand,” he added.
Liquor distribution during polls is a well-known malpractice resorted to win votes.
Gopalaswamy said the poll panel was taking stricter measures than it took during the Gujarat elections last December. “The observers will fan out in constituencies two days before the last date of nomination (of candidature) and stay there till the end of polls,” he said.
There will be more micro-observers, who are stationed in polling booths, than in Gujarat.
“In Gujarat, 9,000 observers were appointed in 40,000 polling stations. Here the number would be substantially high,” he said. However, he did not give any figures of the deployment.