Days Before Elections, EC Seizes Cash, Liquor, Drugs Worth Rs 540 Cr Nationwide

The Election Commission has seized cash, illegal liquor and drugs worth Rs 540 crore throughout the country after the Model Code of Conduct kicked in a fortnight ago, revealed the official data on March 26.

TN tops the list

The southern state of India – Tamil Nadu registered the maximum seizures of Rs 107.24 crore, which the officials believe was used to manipulate the voters. The second state in the list was Uttar Pradesh, which held illegal inducements of Rs 104.53 crore. Andra Pradesh and Punjab held the third and fourth spot with Rs 103.4 crore and 92.8 crore respectively. Another southern state, Karnataka saw the total seizure of inducements and cash worth Rs 26.53 crore. Maharastra’s seized amount clocked at Rs 19.11, whereas Telangana’s was Rs 8.2 crore.

One of the Election Commission official said that the total value of seized items was Rs 539.99 crore.

Liquor worth Rs 89.64 crore seized

EC’s crackdown on illegal money and assets came days after they announced that the poll dates on March 10. According to the data, the EC seized a total of Rs 143.37 crore cash, liquor amount to Rs 89.64 crore, and drugs amount to Rs 131.75 crore. The body also plucked other valuable metals comprising of gold and others to a tune of Rs 162.93 crore. Freebie products – products that are given for free, accounted for Rs 12.20 crore have also been seized.

The EC has positioned hundreds of general observers, expenditure observers and static. They have also formed mobile surveillance teams in the country to keep an eye on the circulation of black money and other illegal gratification.

What is MCC?

The Model Code Of Conduct (MCC) kicked in after the announcement of poll dates by the EC on March 10. The Model Code Of Conduct is a set of guidelines which regulate political parties and its candidates to ensure free and fair polls. The Election Commission derives its powers from Article 324 of the Constitution which allows it to monitor the central and state governments as well as the political parties and their candidates. The MCC provisions deal with a myriad of issues ranging from speeches, management of elections, polling booths, portfolios, the content of election manifestos, among others.

Also Read: TLI Explains: With General Elections Coming Up, Know What The Model Code Of Conduct Means