Election Commission seizes over Rs 800 crore in ongoing polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The poll count in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, as well as in the ongoing bypolls, has crossed the Rs 1,000 crore mark this time.
EC on Monday informed that the combined seizures in Maharashtra and Jharkhand – at Rs 858 crore – were valued at almost seven times the seizures during the 2019 polls.
As the campaign concluded on Monday, Chief Commissioner Rajiv Kumar instructed all enforcement agencies working under the supervision of the European Commission to be extra vigilant in the coming days.
Of the total seizures of Rs 1,082 crore made between the announcement of the polls on October 16 and November 18, Rs 354.8 crore was in freebies, Rs 302 crore in precious metals; Rs 182 crore in cash; Rs 123.6 crore on drugs and Rs 119.9 crore on liquor.
While Maharashtra recorded seizures worth over Rs 660 crore this time, compared to Rs 103.6 crore in the last round of polls, the figure for Jharkhand was Rs 198 crore, compared to Rs 18.8 crore in 2019.
At Rs 282.5 crore, metals accounted for the highest value of seizures in Maharashtra, followed by illicit cash at Rs 153.5 crore. In Jharkhand, the biggest incentives in terms of value were freebies (Rs 152 crore), accounting for almost 80% of the state’s total seizures worth Rs 198 crore.
In the bypolls too, freebies accounted for the highest seizures at Rs 121.6 crore.
During review meetings with enforcement agencies, briefings from central observers and senior officials from neighboring countries, the EC had consistently identified curbing the role of money power in elections as a priority.
In Maharashtra, attacks were recorded in all cohorts in all districts. A few notable operations included the seizure of Rs. 3.7 crore in cash from a suspected jeep in Wada police station in Palghar district. In Jamod AC of Buldhana district, 4,500 kg of Ganja plants worth Rs 4.51 crore were seized. In Raigad, Rs. 5.2 crore worth of silver bars were seized.
Jharkhand also witnessed record attacks and the focus this time was on curbing them illegal mining activitiesresulting in seizures of illegal mining materials and related machinery. In a single incident, Rs 2.3 crore worth of illegal mining equipment was seized from Rajmahal AC in Sahibganj district. In Daltonganj, 687 kg of poppy straw was seized, while in Hazaribagh, 48.18 kg of marijuana was seized.