Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 | FAQs: How to use cVIGIL to report MCC violations

The state of Bihar is all set to go to polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, to elect 243 members of the Bihar legislative assembly. The results will be declared on November 14. While it may be seen as a contest between the National Democratic alliance (NDA) and the Opposition INDIA bloc, the emergence of Prashant Kishore's Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) has forced political pundits to rework their calculations.

Under the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) established by the ECI, it is generally expected that candidates will not engage in any violations. The poll body, however, has an app that allows users to report any infractions they witness in order to guarantee that politicians follow the law.

You can report a violation using the app in the following ways:

• The cVIGIL app was released in 2018 and can be downloaded from both the App Store and the Play Store for iOS and Android.

• After downloading the app, you can register your complaint by logging in or by using an anonymous profile.

• You will need to grant the app access to your phone's camera and storage in order for it to register the complaint. As an alternative, you can carry out the same action via the cVIGIL website.

• The app will display a list of these likely MCC violations after you log in: Money Distribution, Gifts/Coupons Distribution, Liquor Distribution, Posters/Banners Without Permission, Display of Firearms, Intimidation, Vehicles or Convoys Without Permission, Paid News, Property Defacement, Transportation of Voters on Polling Day, Campaigning Within 200 meters of the Polling Booth, Campaigning During the Ban Period, Religious or Communal Speeches/Messages, Use of Speakers Beyond the Permitted Time, Putting Posters Without a Declaration, and Transportation of Public for Rallies.

• You can either take pictures or record a two-minute video and upload it to the app once you have determined which category the violation falls under.

• After the file has been uploaded, you need to fill in all the relevant details and submit the complaint.

The ECI has stated that the "common man has been given a power similar to that of an election observer, as they can lodge complaints of violation of the MCC, which will serve as an important link between the citizens and the Commission and can also help in making the by-elections fair, clean, and transparent." This is in reference to the cVIGIL mobile app.