Record cash, liquor seized in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat ahead of polls

Himachal Pradesh goes to poll on 12 November, while Gujarat will vote on 1 and 5 December.

“The comprehensive planning, reviews and follow-ups by Election Commission of India involving active participation of enforcement agencies have led to record seizures in the ongoing Assembly elections in the States of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh,” the Election Commission said in a statement.

Gujarat witnessed seizures of ₹71.88 crores in just few days of announcement of elections which surpasses even the seizures made in entire duration of enforcement of Model Code of Conduct in Assembly Elections, 2017 which was ₹27.21 crores.

The Election Commission said that there has been a five-fold increase in seizures in Himachal Pradesh compared to the 2017 Assembly elections. The seizures in Himachal Pradesh amounted to ₹50.28 crores as compared to ₹9.03 crores, it said.

Authorities in Himachal Pradesh made seizures worth ₹50.28 crore in total, of which ₹17.18 crore was in cash. Liquor worth ₹17.50 crore or 9.72 lakh litres, drugs worth ₹1.20 crore, precious metals worth ₹13.99 crore and other freebies worth ₹41 lakh were also seized in the hill state. During the 2017 elections, authorities made seizures worth ₹9.03 crore.

While in Gujarat, it made seizures worth ₹71.88 crore in total, of which 66 lakh was in cash. Liquor worth ₹3.86 crore or 1.09 lakh litres, drugs worth ₹94 lakh, precious metals worth ₹1.86 crore and other freebies worth ₹64.56 crore were also seized.

DRI also reported massive seizure amounting to Rs. 64 crores of toys and accessories which were being smuggled by way of mis-declaration and by resorting to concealment in import cargo at Mundra Port. Two persons including the mastermind have been arrested in the case and further investigation is under progress.

For effective monitoring to curb money power in General Elections to Legislative Assembly of Gujarat, Election Commission of India has also deployed 69 expenditure observers. 27 assembly constituencies have been marked as expenditure sensitive constituencies for closer monitoring in these constituencies.

The commission visited Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in September for reviewing electoral preparedness and dedicated teams also visited various regions of the two states in October to oversee preparations for conduct of assembly elections.

The commission during its visit in both the states, took extensive reviews of enforcement agencies, district authorities and police nodal officers to emphasize close and effective monitoring of items meant for influencing voters.