NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) on Friday announced that seizures worth more than Rs 1000 crore have been made amidst the ongoing Assembly elections in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa, and Uttarakhand.
"The comprehensive and advance planning, meticulous follow-ups, and active participation of enforcement agencies have led to a stupendous rise in seizure figures touching Rs 1000 crores in the ongoing Assembly elections, 2022 in states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa. Seizures mark increasing focus on expenditure monitoring process by the Commission and other agencies to curb the menace of money power in elections," stated a release by the EC.
The seizures consisted of drugs (56%), liquor (10%), cash (14%), precious metals (11%), and freebies (9%).
"The process of strengthening expenditure monitoring took off further from the Assembly elections of 5 states/UT in 2021, wherein the efforts of the multipronged strategy of the commission led to seizures which are more than 4 times in comparison to 2017 Assembly elections in those States/UT," added the statement.
Among states, Punjab topped the list with a seizure of Rs 510.91 crores, followed by Uttar Pradesh with Rs 307.92 crores, while Goa stood last with Rs 12.73 crores. Whereas, Uttarakhand and Manipur's figures stood at Rs 18.81 crores and Rs 167.83 crores respectively.
"Sensing menace of drugs and its possible use during elections, the commission also convened meeting with DG, Narcotics Control Bureau. Regular review and strict enforcement have led to maximum seizures in the Drugs/Narcotics category. Apart from the above-mentioned figures, the commission’s visit galvanized enforcement authorities as the agencies seized drugs worth Rs 109 crores in Punjab and more than 8 lakh liters of liquor in Uttar Pradesh, in the run-up to elections," EC stated.
"For effective monitoring in general elections to five legislative assemblies, the Election Commission has deployed 228 expenditure observers," it added.
