(1)A person shall be deemed to have committed a corrupt practice who directly or indirectly by himself or by any other person-(i)induces or attempts to induce by fraud or coercion any elector to give or refrain from giving a vote in favour of any candidate ;(ii)threatens any candidate or elector, or any person in whom a candidate or elector is interested with injury of any kind with a view to influence him in any way in connection with the election ;(iii)induces or attempts to induce a candidate or elector to believe that he or any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered an object of divine displeasure or of spiritual censure with a view to influence him in any way in connection with the election ;(iv)employs, instigates or threatens any form of social boycott of any elector or candidate or of any one in whom such elector or candidate is interested ;(v)with a view to including any elector to give or to refrain from giving a vote in favour of any candidate, offers or gives any food or drink, or any money or valuable consideration, or any place or employment, or holds out any promise of individual advantage or profit to any person, including a promise of spiritual salvation ;(vi)gives or procure the giving of a vote in the name of an elector who is not the person giving such vote ;(vii)makes any payment or promise of payment to any person on account of the conveyance of any elector to or from any palce for the purpose of recording his vote :Provided that nothing contained in this clause shall prevent a conveyance being hired by an elector or by several electors at their joint cost, for the purpose of conveying him or them to or from the place fixed for the poll :(viii)offers any money or valuable consideration to any person to induce him to withdraw from being a candidate at an election, or being a candidate, accepts any money or valuable consideration so offered ; or(ix)abets the doing of any of the acts specified in clauses (i) to (viii).Explanations. - (a) A "promise of individual advantage or profit to a person" includes a promise for the benefit of the person himself, or of any one in whom he is interested, but does not include a promise to further or oppose, or to vote for or against any particular Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti or Zilla Parishad measure or work ;(b)no agent, clerk, messenger, or other person who may, in accordance with rules made by the State Government, be employed for remuneration by a candidate at an election shall be reason of such employment alone be deemed to come within the provision of this Section.(2)A corrupt practice shall be deemed to have been committed by a candidate if it has been committed with his knowledge and consent, or by a person who is acting under the general or special authority of such candidate with reference to the election.(3)Every person who is guilty of a corrupt practice at or in connection with an election held under the provisions of this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees or with both.
