New Delhi, Mar 18: Before announcing the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections at a crowded press conference in the national capital, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said the poll watcdog has launched a new mobile application called Know Your Candidate (KYC) that will enable voters to find out if any electoral candidate in their constituency has criminal antecedents.

The application has been made available for download on both the Android and iOS platforms, the chief election commissioner informed.

Expanding on the new mobile application, the poll panel chief said, "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'."

At the press conference, the Commission declared that the Lok Sabha elections will be held across seven phases, while assembly elections to four states--Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal and Sikkim--will also be held simultaneously in separate single phases.

Sharing further details on the KYC app, 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.

"The voters can also now check for themselves the assets and liabilities that candidates with criminal antecedents hold. All relevant information in this regard will be made available on this application," Kumar said.

He added that the parties fielding such candidates will also have to explain the rationale behind the decision, while the nominees with a criminal past, themselves, would also be required to bring all information in the public domain.

"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.

The Know your Candidate (KYC) app is available on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, the Election Commission posted on its website while also sharing the QR code to download the app.

Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh will be held on May 13 while Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will poll in a single phase on April 19.

Bypolls for 26 Assembly seats will also be held along with the Lok Sabha polls.

(ANI)

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