anticipates that the use of cash will be minimal in the forthcoming elections in five states, including the fierce contests in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, as no one will be able to accumulate the new currency in quick time. While talking to, Rawat, however, forewarns that cash may be replaced by kind: liquor, drugs, gold etc. Edited excerpts:Our experiences in the recently concluded by-elections in Tamil Nadu Madhya Pradesh and Assam have shown that cash recovery or seizure was reduced to a large extent. This is despite our rigorous enforcement to seize unauthorised cash. Our apprehension was that old notes (of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000) which were available could be distributed in the by-poll. But that did not happen. There were very few seizures, which shows that the role of money in the recent byelections was limited. It was because there was a vacuum. New notes were not available and the parties refrained from distributing the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. In Tamil Nadu’s Aravakurichi assembly segment (which was countermanded), the total cash seizure in May 2016 was Rs 6.75 crore. In the recent by-poll, cash seized was Rs 25 lakh.Possibly the feeling was that voters wouldn’t be happy receiving old notes. Whatever be the reason, the old notes were hardly used during the by-poll.Our past experiences and interactions with the Income-Tax Department have shown that most of the cash used in elections are what is unaccounted for. So, accumulating huge unaccounted money in the new currency will take a long time. The elections in UP, Punjab and others will take place in the next four months.I don’t think anybody will be able to accumulate new currency notes that fast. So we (in the EC) are anticipating that the use of cash in the coming UP, Punjab polls will be very low. But there could be other means to woo the voters.The use of cash may be replaced by liquor, drugs, gold, among other things. What if unaccounted money gets converted into real estate ? You sell that and use fresh money for elections. We suspect barter deals may go up in absence of cash. Even in Olympics, some sportspersons use dope and other unfair means to win. Here, it’s all about capturing power. So, we can’t rule out the use of unfair means even though the use of cash will be minimal.Once Rs 2,000 notes are readily available, yes, it will be an issue. It will be easy to carry new high-value notes. Then we will have to come up with other means to deal with the problem.We insisted that the provisions (of countermanding elections on the basis of rampant use of money) should be clearly mentioned in the Representation of People Act, 1951. But the government has told the Commission that even without the provision, the Commission has countermanded polls on this ground.Actually, we have done it in Tamil Nadu by using Article 324 of the Constitution, which says superintendence, direction and control of elections will be vested in the Election Commission. The distribution of money in elections makes our superintendence and control less effective. So, we used it in Tamil Nadu to countermand elections. But as there are no clear legal provisions in the Act, we can use such steps only sparingly under Article 324. If we have a provision, we would have possibly put a full stop to the use of money power in elections (by countermanding polls). Now, we are treading very cautiously.If the Commission is satisfied, we will countermand again under 324.In that situation, small-time, genuine donors will have no role in elections. Poor candidates and marginal parties will suffer most in that case. After all, money plays a major role in elections. And the bigger parties with corporate backup will benefit the most if there is a total ban on cash donations. (A political party can accept donations lower than Rs 20,000 in cash.)I withdrew Rs 10,000 cash (in new currency) and exchanged old notes worth Rs 4,000. That Rs 14,000 cash has been sufficient for me till now. But my problem has been I got most of my cash in Rs 2,000 notes. So, buying vegetables and fruits has been an issue. I tried them both in the Sarojini and Netaji Nagar markets (Rawat resides in New Delhi’s New Moti Bagh area). How can I buy vegetables worth Rs 2,000 in one go?