New Delhi, Mar 26 (TNT): The Election Commission of India on Thursday said seizures of illicit inducements in poll-bound states have crossed Rs 400 crore since the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the 2026 Assembly elections.
The Commission had announced the schedule for General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with bye-elections in six states, on March 15, 2026, following which the MCC came into force.
According to the Commission, seizures worth Rs 408.82 crore were made between February 26 and March 25 after the activation of the Electronic Seizure Management System (ESMS).
The seized items include Rs 17.44 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 37.68 crore (16.3 lakh litres), drugs valued at Rs 167.38 crore, precious metals worth Rs 23 crore and other freebies amounting to over Rs 163.30 crore.
To ensure free and fair elections, over 5,173 flying squads and more than 5,200 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) have been deployed across states and Union Territories to monitor violations and conduct surprise checks.
The Commission said it had reviewed preparedness with Chief Secretaries, Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), Directors General of Police (DGPs) and enforcement agencies of poll-bound and neighbouring states, directing them to ensure violence-free and inducement-free elections.
It also emphasised that enforcement activities should not inconvenience citizens and said District Grievance Committees have been set up to address complaints.
Between March 15 and March 25, a total of 70,944 complaints were received through the C-Vigil app, of which 70,831 were disposed of, with 95.8 per cent resolved within 100 minutes.
Citizens and political parties can report violations through the C-Vigil module on ECINET or by calling the voter helpline number 1950, the Commission added.
TNT KS
Leave a Reply