Bengaluru: The Election Commission of India is keeping a close watch on all social media to ensure politicians do not act in violation of the model code of conduct.

The commission has hired able allies in civil society members and students who care for the democratic process to keep a watch on the virtual space and ensure the campaign for the May 12 election complies with the code.

Joint Chief Electoral Officer Surya Sen A V said DH several concerned citizens and students were scanning through social media posts for poll code violations.

"Right now, we have about 10-15 students in Bengaluru working with us. Members of the civil society who care about the elections are also volunteering. At the district level, deputy commissioners are also involved," he said.

The commission recruited the volunteers after doing a background check to ensure they are neutral and are people of integrity, Sen said. The chosen volunteers were given a half-day training.

"We are looking out for everything from coupons and promo codes to bitcoins since everyone is now tech-savvy. We also look out for hate speech and messages," Sen said.

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Ostrava (Czech Republic), Jun 24 (PTI): Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday clinched the title at the Golden Spike meet in his maiden appearance here, his back-to-back win in a top-class competition.

Fresh from his Paris Diamond League win on June 20, Chopra emerged on top in a nine-man field here though with a modest effort of 85.29m in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event.

He had skipped the last two editions of Golden Spike -- an event that his coach Jan Zelezny won nine times in a storied career -- due to fitness issues.

The 27-year-old Chopra has had an impressive season so far, having won his first Diamond League title in two years in Paris after also breaching the elusive 90m mark during his second place finish in Doha DL in May.