The Election Commission has cracked its whip and made seizures worth over Rs 1,000 crores during the ongoing elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.
The Election Commission said it had strengthened monitoring of expenditure in the run-up to the elections in the five states through a multi-pronged strategy. (File photo)
More than Rs 1,000 crore worth of cash, drugs, liquor and freebies have been seized so far in the assembly polls in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa, the Election Commission said in a statement on Friday. The amount of seizures have increased more than four times when compared to the 2017 assembly elections in these states.
The amount of liquor seized from Punjab is the highest — a whopping 59 lakh liters — giving an impression that liquor was overflowing in the state. Punjab was followed by Uttar Pradesh with the seizure of 19 lakh liters of liquor.
Punjab was also on top when it came to drugs as narcotics worth Rs 376 crores was seized from the state, followed by Manipur with Rs 143 crores.
Uttar Pradesh was at the top of the list in cash seizures with Rs 91 crores.
“Apart from the above mentioned seizure figures, the Commission’s visit galvanised enforcement authorities as the agencies seized drugs worth Rs 109 crore in Punjab and more than eight lakh liters of liquor in Uttar Pradesh in the run-up to the elections,” the EC said in a statement.
The EC held multiple meetings with heads of Enforcement Agencies like – CBDT, CBIC, NCB, Excise and senior officials of bordering states to poll-going states — for a thorough framework to ensure ‘induction-free’ elections.
The EC also took extensive reviews of enforcement agencies and police nodal officers during the meetings held in the states, to emphasize close and effective monitoring of items meant for influencing voters.
The EC has deployed 228 expenditure observers. The EC has also appointed special expenditure observers, officers who hold an impeccable and brilliant track record of domain expertise.
The special observers have been traveling extensively in their assigned states holding various with the CEO office, district administration and enforcement agencies.
After due assessment, 63 assembly constituencies in these five states have been marked as expenditure sensitive constituencies for more focused vigil.
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