How Booze, Guns, Cash Ruled Over Delhi Dangal

As campaigning ends, EC figures reveal a 25 fold jump — from last Assembly polls — in seizures of alcohol, drugs and firearms

- Ajay Kumar

It was an election campaign that saw booze and drugs in free flow, guns being brandished and also used, besides cash and other bribes being doled out. And the scale of it was unprecedented.

As the high-octane canvassing ended at 5 pm on Thursday, Election Commission (EC) figures revealed that the total seizure was worth Rs 52.87 crore. The haul includes Rs 10.02 crore in cash, ₹2.63 crore worth of smuggled liquor and Rs 5.87 crore worth of drugs and narcotics.

Then there was ₹32.18 crore worth of gold, silver and other precious metals and ₹2.16 crore worth of freebies like pressure cookers, saris and laptops.

These seizures were made by law enforcement agencies like the Delhi Police, the Excise Department and the Narcotics Control Bureau between January 6, when the Model Code of Conduct came into force, and February 5.

This is a shocking 25-fold jump from the last Delhi polls in 2015 when the worth of the total seizures was just ₹2.16 crore including ₹46 lakh in cash.

GUN BIZ BOOMS