As Tamil Nadu and West Bengal is gearing up for the assembly elections the Election Commission announced that election-related seizures, including cash, drugs and liquor meant to allure voters, have crossed the ₹1,000 crore mark in the two states.
Tamil Nadu will go to polls on Thursday in a single phase along with phase one in West Bengal where the second phase of voting is slated for April 29.
The Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) was activated on February 26. Since then, enforcement authorities have recovered freebies and allurements worth ₹1,072.13 crore in the two states.
The seizures include ₹127.67 crore in cash (₹27.48 from West Bengal and ₹100.19 crore from Tamil Nadu), nearly 41,000 litres of liquor worth ₹106.3 crore, drugs worth nearly ₹184 crore and precious metals such as gold and silver worth ₹215 crore.
Authorities have also seized freebies worth ₹418 crore, the EC said.
The seizures underscores the entrenched role of money power in shaping electoral contests.
“The Commission has also stressed that the enforcement authorities should ensure that ordinary citizens are not inconvenienced or harassed during the checking and inspection for the enforcement of these directives. District Grievance Committees have also been setup to address any grievances in this regard,” a statement from the EC had read.
