NEW DELHI: The value of poll-related seizures in Maharashtra and Jharkhand as well in the ongoing bypolls have breached the Rs 1,000-crore mark this time.
The Election Commission on Monday shared that the combined seizures in Maharashtra and Jharkhand – at Rs 858 crore – were valued at almost seven times the seizures made during the 2019 assembly polls.
With the campaign having concluded on Monday, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar directed all enforcement agencies working under EC’s supervision to be extra vigilant over the next couple of days.
Of the total Rs 1,082-crore seizures made between the announcement of polls on October 16 and November 18, Rs 354.8 crore were in freebies, Rs 302 crore in precious metals, Rs 182 crore in cash, Rs 123.6 crore in drugs, and Rs 119.9 crore in liquor.
While Maharashtra recorded seizures worth over Rs 660 crore this time as compared to Rs 103.6 crore in the latest round of polls, the figure for Jharkhand was Rs 198 crore, up from Rs 18.8 crore in 2019.
With a worth of Rs 282.5 crore, metals accounted for the highest value of seizures in Maharashtra, followed by illegal cash at Rs 153.5 crore. In Jharkhand, the biggest poll inducements in terms of value were freebies (Rs 152 crore), making up almost 80% of the state’s total seizures worth Rs 198 crore. In the bypolls too, freebies accounted for the highest seizures at Rs 121.6 crore.
During review meetings with enforcement agencies and central observers, EC had consistently listed curbing the role of money power in the elections as a priority.
In Maharashtra, seizures were recorded in all cohorts across all districts. A few noteworthy operations included seizure of Rs 3.7 crore in cash from a suspicious car in Palghar district, 4,500 kg of marijuana worth Rs 4.51 crore from Buldhana district and silver bars worth Rs. 5.2 crore in Raigad.
Jharkhand also witnessed record seizures and the focus this time was on curbing illicit mining activities, which resulted in seizures of illegal mining materials and machines involved. In a single incident, Rs 2.3 crore worth of illegal mining material was seized in Sahibganj district. In Daltonganj, 687 kg of poppy straw was seized, while in Hazaribagh 48.18 kg of marijuana was seized.