What is Suvidha Portal?

About Suvidha Portal

• It is a technological solution developed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure a level playing field upholding the democratic principles of free, fair, and transparent elections.
• It streamlined the process of obtaining and acting upon requests for permissions and facilities from political parties and candidatesduring the election period.
• Recognizing the importance of the election campaign period, where parties and candidates engage in activities to reach out to voters, the Suvidha Portal caters to a diverse range of permission requests transparently on the First in First Out principle.
• Political parties and candidates can seamlessly submit permission requests online from anywhere, at any time.
• Additionally, offline submission options are available to ensure inclusivity and equal opportunity for all stakeholders.
• It caters to permissions for organising rallies, opening temporary party offices, door-to-door canvassing, video vans, helicopters, obtaining vehicle permits, distributing pamphlets.
• Supported by a robust IT platform, managed by nodal officers across various state departments, the Suvidha Portal facilitates the efficient processing of permission requests.
• Suvidha also has a companion app that enables applicants to track the status of their requests in real time, adding further convenience and transparency to the process.

Furthermore, the permission data available on the portal serves as a valuable resource for scrutinising election expenditures, contributing to greater accountability and integrity in the electoral process.

Q1: What is the Election Commission of India (ECI)?

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is an autonomous and permanent constitutional body responsible for organising free and fair elections in the Union and States of India. The Constitution grants the ECI with the power of direction, superintendence, and control of elections to Parliament, state legislatures, the office of president of India and the office of vice-president of India. The ECI does not deal with the elections to the urban bodies such as Municipalities and Panchayats in the states and hence, a separate State Election Commission.

Source: Lok Sabha polls: Suvidha portal gets over 73,000 applications for campaign-related activities