₹1,760 cr drugs, cash, liquor seized across five states: EC

Freebies, drugs, cash, liquor and precious metals worth over ₹1,760 crore have been seized by authorities so far in the five poll-bound states, the Election Commission (EC) said on Monday, adding that the recoveries were a seven-fold increase in comparison to the 2018 assembly elections.

- Abhya Adlakha

While voting in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh is over, elections in Rajasthan and Telangana are scheduled to be held in a single phase on November 25 and 30, respectively. To be sure, the seizures are likely to rise as the model code of conduct is enforced till December 3, when the results for all the five states are scheduled to be announced.

Freebies refer to a range of poll sops offered by various parties to the electorate.

“Seizures over ₹1,760 crore have been reported in the five poll-going states since the announcement of the elections, which is more than seven times ( ₹239.15 crore) the seizures made in previous assembly elections in these states in 2018,” the poll body said in a statement.