Assembly Elections 2026 | Cash, liquor, drugs: EC seizures cross Rs 1,000 crore in poll-bound Tamil Nadu & West Bengal

With only one day to go for voting in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal phase 1 assembly elections, the Election Commission of India on Wednesday said that it had seized cash, liquor, drugs and other freebies worth Rs 1,000 crore in the two states since the election Seizure Management System (ESMS) was activated on February 26.

The EC said it deployed over 5,011 (2,728 in West Bengal and 2,283 in Tamil Nadu) Flying Squad Teams (FSTs) to ensure strict compliance of Model Code of Conduct and that the complaints are attended to within 100 minutes.

Besides this, over 5,363 (3,142 in West Bengal and 2,221 in Tamil Nadu) Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) were also deployed for setting up surprise Nakas at different locations.

According to the EC, a total of Rs 1,072.13 crore has been seized in the two poll bound states.

In West Bengal seizures include Rs 27.48 crore worth cash, Rs 102.45 crore worth of liquor, drugs worth Rs 108.11 crore, precious metals worth Rs 55.88 crore and freebies worth Rs 178.83 crore, totaling to Rs 472.89 crore.

Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, seizures amounted to Rs 100.19 crore worth cash, Rs 3.85 crore worth of liquor, drugs worth Rs 78.72 crore, precious metals worth Rs 159.31 crore and freebies worth Rs 259.14 crore, totaling to Rs 599.24 crore.