Valuables worth Rs 1,000 crore seized in polls so far

With the Election Commission (EC) deploying multiple agencies to prevent misuse of money to win votes in the Assembly polls, cash and valuables worth over Rs 1,000 crore were seized in Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.

The agencies confiscated cash worth Rs 236.69 crore from Tamil Nadu, Rs 50.71 crore from West Bengal, Rs 27.09 crore from Assam, Rs 22.88 crore from Kerala and Rs 5.52 crore from Puducherry ever since the schedule of the assembly polls was announced, the EC stated on Friday.

The total value of cash, liquor, drugs and other freebies and precious metals confiscated in the four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry as well as the in the constituencies, where by-polls being held, was pegged at Rs 1,001.44 crore—almost five times the seizures made during the assembly polls in 2016.

The EC has deployed five special expenditure observers and 321 expenditure observers for close monitoring and prevention of misuse of money and other valuables by the candidates and the political parties to woo the voters, the poll panel stated.

The commission declared 259 assembly constituencies as “expenditure-sensitive” for more focussed vigil by the agencies, like the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate and others.