New Delhi: Agencies under the Election Commission of India (ECI) have seized Rs 558 crore of cash, freebies, liquor, drugs, and precious metals to stop influencing voters in ongoing elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand as well as byelection-bound states.
According to ECI statement, around Rs 280 crores were seized alone in Maharashtra and Rs 158 crores in Jharkhand since the announcement of elections. These seizures are three times more than in 2019.
The combined seizures in the two poll-bound states mark a 3.5 time increase as compared to 2019 when Maharashtra recorded seizures worth Rs 103.61 crore while for Jharkhand it was Rs 18.76 crore, the statement said.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had earlier directed all officials on 'Zero Tolerance' of the commission towards any kind of inducements in elections. He also asked for joint teams from multiple agencies to clamp down on the distribution and movement of illicit liquor, drugs, freebies, and cash, it said.
During a recent meeting with CS, DGP, excise commissioners and enforcement agencies of the two states and neighbouring states and UTs, Kumar stressed close vigil on movements across inter-state borders and directed agencies to establish backward linkages of seizures for a wider deterrence.
Regular follow-ups and reviews with each district, the use of information technology, precise data interpretation and active participation of enforcement agencies have led to this significant spurt in seizures. Real-time reporting of interceptions and seizures with the ECI’s Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) has led to regular and precise reviews on expenditure monitoring by the commission and agencies themselves.
Closer vigil is also kept in the 110 assembly constituencies in the two states (91 in Maharashtra and 19 in Jharkhand) marked as expenditure-sensitive constituencies for focused vigil, ECI said.
The commission's cVIGIL App has also been an effective tool for citizens to flag election code violations. Since the announcement of the assembly elections and by-polls, 9,681 complaints have been resolved through the app so far. The disposal rate of the complaint has been over 98 per cent with over 83 per cent of the complaints being resolved in less than 100 minutes.
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