Seizures of cash, liquor, drugs and other items in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have crossed Rs 1,000 crore, the Election Commission of India said on Wednesday. The poll body said the seizures, recorded since the activation of the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) on February 26, stood at Rs 1,072.13 crore as of April 22.
According to the Commission, West Bengal accounted for seizures worth Rs 472.89 crore, while Tamil Nadu reported Rs 599.24 crore.
The seizures included Rs 127.67 crore in cash, over 40 lakh litres of liquor valued at Rs 106.3 crore, drugs worth Rs 184.83 crore, precious metals worth Rs 215.19 crore, and freebies and other items worth Rs 437.97 crore.
The Commission had announced the schedule for Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with bye-elections, on March 15, and directed strict compliance with the Model Code of Conduct.
It said multiple review meetings were held with chief secretaries, chief electoral officers, directors general of police and enforcement agencies of poll-bound states and neighbouring regions to ensure free and fair elections.
To strengthen surveillance, over 5,011 flying squad teams, 2,728 in West Bengal and 2,283 in Tamil Nadu, have been deployed to respond to complaints within 100 minutes.
Additionally, more than 5,363 static surveillance teams — 3,142 in West Bengal and 2,221 in Tamil Nadu — have been set up to conduct surprise checks at various locations.
It also said citizens and political parties can report Model Code violations through the C-Vigil module on ECINET.
The first phase of Bengal voting will be held on Thursday (April 23) and the second phase polling will be on April 29. Counting of votes will be held on May 4.
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