KHAMMAM: With the election commission increasing the police checking on vehicles in a bid to curb the candidates from bribing the voters with money, the candidates have found new ways to woo the voters.
Now, the candidates are taking the help of technology to distribute money to the voters. It is being transferred through Paytm, Googlepay and Rupee mode to the electorate, to avoid trouble and also suspicion.
The candidates are engaging people who know operating Paytm and transferring the money into the voters' accounts, urging them to exercise franchise in their favour.
According to sources, one of the candidates contesting the elections in Khammam district has engaged 350 students from Vijayawada, having good technical knowledge, and provided accommodation to them in a few lodges in Khammam town.
First, the candidate's agents will distribute voter slips having a '10 currency note attached to it to the voters. The serial number of the notes are recorded and the voters interested to sell their votes are asked to visit a certain place, basing on the serial number.
Here, the candidate's agents speak to the voters and money is transferred to the latter's bank accounts through Paytm and GooglePay.
Voters can also get money transferred into their accounts by messaging the serial number of the '10 currency note to the specific phone number given by the candidate's agents. The voters will be briefed about the system by the persons of the candidate while distributing the voter slips.
Every candidate is maintaining several Paytm numbers and cash is being transferred through that platform into the voters' accounts,
In some cases, the voters are being called up on their mobiles and the entire exercise is initiated. In a few other cases, agents of the candidates are visiting the voters' houses personally, claiming themselves as cable bill collectors and then transferring money into the voters' accounts through their cell phones.
The price of each vote ranges between '1,000 and '3,000, basing on the need and greed of the voter.
Paytm payments will leave little chance of suspicion on the candidate. It will be known only if the EC officials probe into the deals.
N. Sundar, a teacher, said: "Investigating into the Paytm payments is very difficult and the EC can't catch hold of the candidates."
Meanwhile, a few candidates are still sticking to the traditional method of distributing currency notes physically to the voters.
