The Election Commission is on track to record the highest-ever seizures of inducements in the history of Lok Sabha elections, having seized Rs 4,650 crore so far even before polling has begun. The amount is higher than the total seizures made in the 2019 polls.
This is a massive jump from the over Rs 3,475 crore seized during the entire course of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. According to an official statement issued by the Commission, significantly, 45 per cent of the seizures are of drugs and narcotics.
Since March, drugs worth Rs 2,068.85 crore have been seized, while freebies and other items amounting to Rs 1,142.49 crore have been seized by the enforcement agencies so far. Precious metal worth Rs 562.10 crore and liquor worth Rs 489.31 crore have also been seized. Cash seizures made so far amount to Rs 395 crore.
The EC, in the statement, said that months before the elections, and more intensively from January 2024, senior officials from the Commission visited every state and union territory to emphasise the importance of combating the influence of money in elections. As a result, in January and February, the months preceding the official announcement, countrywide seizures totalling another Rs 7,502 crore were recorded in the form of cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and freebies. This brings the total seizure to over Rs 12,000 crore so far.
"Use of black money, over and above political financing and accurate disclosure thereof, may disturb the level playing field in favour of more resourceful party or candidate in specific geographies. The seizures are a critical part of ECI resolve to conduct the Lok Sabha elections free of inducements and electoral malpractices and to ensure a level playing field," the statement said.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had, while announcing the poll schedule on March 16, underlined money power as one of the '4M' challenges in the elections. On April 12, the Commission led by the CEC along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu reviewed all central observers deployed in phase one of the elections. The focus of the discussion was on cracking down on inducements in the elections.
In an incident in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, the Commission suspended the flying squad team leader for laxity in duty and selective checking of a cavalcade of a prominent leader. Similarly, officials checked vehicles in the convoy of the chief minister of a state and also the vehicle of a deputy chief minister in another state, according to the statement.
The Commission has also taken strict action against approximately 106 government servants who have been found assisting politicians in campaigning, thereby violating the Code of Conduct and instructions.
The CEC also stressed strict compliance with the rules about surveillance and inspection of non-scheduled aircraft and helicopters by Income Tax, airport authorities and the Superintendent of Police of concerned districts. Border agencies have been asked to keep a close watch on international checkposts and GST authorities are closely monitoring godowns, especially makeshift godowns meant for storing freebies.
The Commission has emphasised there will be multi-pronged surveillance on all modes of transport -- check posts for road transport, Coast Guard for coastal routes and District Magistrates and SPs alongside agencies for air routes including checking of helicopters and non-scheduled flights.
As many as 123 constituencies have been marked as Expenditure Sensitive Constituencies for enhanced vigil. A total of 656 Expenditure Observers have been assigned to Lok Sabha constituencies, while 125 are deployed in Assembly constituencies across Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Sikkim.
