A significant amount of Rs 319 crore in cash, liquor, and other incentives has been confiscated by election flying squads and enforcement agencies in West Bengal. Among the five poll-bound regions, West Bengal leads in the recovery of inducements, liquor, precious metals, and cash, totaling Rs 150 crore, Rs 55 crore, Rs 39 crore, and Rs 11 crore respectively. Law enforcers in the state have also seized drugs valued at Rs 65 crore in preparation for the upcoming two-phase elections on April 23 and 29.
In West Bengal, out of the total 29.63 lakh litres of liquor seized by poll officials across all regions, 21.29 lakh litres were confiscated in the state. Meanwhile, in Assam, flying squads and surveillance teams have intercepted Rs 4 crore in cash in the lead-up to the election, along with 6,84,627 litres of liquor valued at Rs 20 crore. The state has also seen seizures of drugs worth Rs 56 crore, precious metals worth Rs 4 crore, and other freebies worth Rs 13 crore as of April 5.
The total value of confiscated items in Assam stands at Rs 97 crore, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). In Tamil Nadu, seizures have amounted to Rs 170 crore, including drugs worth Rs 67 crore, other freebies worth Rs 63 crore, cash worth Rs 30 crore, precious metals worth Rs 8 crore, and liquor worth Rs 2 crore. Kerala has witnessed the recovery of Rs 58 crore worth of inducements, comprising drugs worth Rs 41 crore, cash worth Rs 8 crore, other freebies worth Rs 5 crore, liquor worth Rs 2 crore, and precious metals worth Rs 1 crore.
In Puducherry, items worth Rs 7 crore have been seized, with Rs 6 crore in precious metals, Rs 20 lakh in cash, and Rs 30 lakh in liquor, along with other freebies valued at Rs 1 lakh. Overall, enforcement agencies have confiscated illegal cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals, and freebies worth over Rs 651.5 crore from the five election-bound states. To ensure fair elections, the ECI has deployed 5,173 flying squads and over 5,200 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) across the regions to promptly address complaints.
