BackEC seizes over ₹1760 crore from poll-bound states; Rajasthan, Telangana lead list
The Election Commission of India has reported seizures of over ₹1760 crores in the five poll-bound states, surpassing the seizures made in the 2018 Assembly elections.
PremiumThe Election Commission of India has seized more than ₹1760 crores from the five poll-bound states – a sevenfold increase from the 2018 Assembly elections. This includes a variety of freebies as well as drugs, cash, liquor and precious metals that were intended to woo voters in Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
“Seizures over ₹1760 crores have been reported in the five poll going states since announcement of the elections, which is more than 7 times (Rs. 239.15 Cr) the seizures made in previous Assembly Elections in these States in 2018…It may be recalled that seizures over ₹1400 crores were done in the past six state assembly elections held in Gujarat, HP, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Karnataka which is 11 times of the previous assembly elections in these states," the poll body wrote in an official release.
Assembly elections were recently concluded in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. Voting will also take place in Rajasthan on November 25 and in Telangana on November 30. The counting of votes for all five states will be held on December 3.
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According to the breakdown of seizures shared by the Election Commission Telangana ranks at the top with a total of ₹659.2 crore. This is followed by Rajasthan at ₹650.7 crore. According to the EC, no cash or precious metal was seized in Mizoram. However drugs worth ₹29.82 crore were recovered by authorities from the northeastern state.
“This time the Commission has also embedded technology into the monitoring process through the Election Expenditure Monitoring System (ESMS) which is proving to be a catalyst, as it brought a wide array of Central and State enforcement agencies together for better coordination and intelligence sharing," the EC shared.
(With inputs from agencies)
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