Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Wednesday said poll-related seizures in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have crossed the Rs 1,000 crore mark ahead of the ongoing assembly elections and bye-elections.Enforcement agencies have recovered inducements worth Rs 1,072.13 crore meant to influence voters, the Commission said.
According to a press release issued by the poll body, the seizures included cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other freebies. EC alleged that the freebies were meant to influence voters and occurred after the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) was activated on February 26.The Commission said, “freebies and allurements worth Rs 1072.13 crore” have been seized so far across the two poll-bound states.A state-wise break-up showed that West Bengal accounted for seizures worth Rs 472.89 crore, while Tamil Nadu reported a higher figure of Rs 599.24 crore.The recovered items include Rs 127.67 crore in cash, nearly 41,000 litres of liquor valued at Rs 106.3 crore, drugs worth Rs 184.83 crore and precious metals such as gold and silver valued at Rs 215.19 crore. Authorities have also seized freebies and other inducements worth Rs 437.97 crore, the Commission said.The poll body said it has put in place extensive surveillance and enforcement mechanisms to ensure elections remain free of inducements and intimidation. Over 5,011 Flying Squad Teams, 2,728 in West Bengal and 2,283 in Tamil Nadu have been deployed to respond swiftly to complaints, with a mandate to act within 100 minutes.In addition, more than 5,363 Static Surveillance Teams have been stationed across key locations to conduct surprise checks and set up nakas, it added.The poll body observed that it has held multiple review meetings with chief secretaries, directors general of police, chief electoral officers and other senior officials, directing them to ensure “violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free elections” in line with the Model Code of Conduct.At the same time, it emphasised that enforcement actions should not inconvenience ordinary citizens. District Grievance Committees have been set up to address complaints arising from checks and inspections.The Commission also urged citizens and political parties to report violations of the Model Code of Conduct through the C-Vigil module on ECINET, reinforcing its push for participatory monitoring during the election process.
