NEW DELHI: Law enforcement agencies in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have made “record seizures” of cash, liquor, drugs and precious metals in the run-up to the assembly elections in the two states, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said in a statement on Friday, adding that seizures worth ₹50.28 crore in Himachal Pradesh, which votes on Saturday, represent a five-fold increase over the 2017 figures.
The ECI statement attributed the record seizures in the two states to “comprehensive planning, reviews and follow-ups” by ECI. The exercise is aimed at preventing the use of money power ahead of all polls to minimize voter manipulation using cash, liquor, drugs or any other freebies.
The commission said the results are encouraging with Gujarat witnessing seizures of ₹71.88 crore within just a few days of the announcement of the elections. “Similarly, the seizures in Himachal Pradesh are also significant amounting to ₹50.28 crores as compared to ₹9.03 crores, marking a five-fold increase. Further, if citizens become vigilant and use cVigil App more extensively, it would go a long way in curbing money power in the elections,” it said. The mobile app, CVigil, enables people to record photographs and videos of model code of conduct violations.
In Gujarat, where polling will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, the seizures include a consignment of toys and other accessories worth ₹64 crore that was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Gujarat’s Mundra Port. Two people including the mastermind have been arrested in this case, the statement said. The seizure was classified by the ECI as “freebies”. The authorities have also seized ₹66 lakh in cash, 110,000 litres of liquor worth ₹3.86 crore, drugs worth ₹94 lakh and precious metals worth ₹1.86 crore.
{{/usCountry}}In Gujarat, where polling will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, the seizures include a consignment of toys and other accessories worth ₹64 crore that was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Gujarat’s Mundra Port. Two people including the mastermind have been arrested in this case, the statement said. The seizure was classified by the ECI as “freebies”. The authorities have also seized ₹66 lakh in cash, 110,000 litres of liquor worth ₹3.86 crore, drugs worth ₹94 lakh and precious metals worth ₹1.86 crore.
{{/usCountry}}In Himachal Pradesh, the seizures include ₹17.2 crore cash, 972,000 litres of liquor worth ₹17.4 crore, drugs worth ₹1.2 crore, precious metals worth ₹13.99 crore and freebies worth ₹40 lakh.
The ECI statement said the process of expenditure monitoring starts months before the announcement of the elections with the appointment of experienced officers as expenditure observers, identifying expenditure-sensitive constituencies and sensitising enforcement agencies for coordinated and comprehensive monitoring.
As reported by HT on November 4, this time ECI has classified 28 assembly segments in Gujarat and 35 expenditure-sensitive pockets (some areas within constituencies) in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan as “expenditure sensitive”.
These constituencies are identified by ECI on the basis of its assessment of the possibility that politicians may seek to expose voters to undue influence by distributing cash, liquor, drugs, or other items, in exchange for their support during voting. Special observers are also appointed to ensure strict vigil.