Ahead of the assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said that it has seized a “record” Rs 71.88 crore in cash, liquor, drugs and freebies from Gujarat, while Rs 50.28 crore has been seized from Himachal Pradesh, a staggering five-fold increase compared to the 2017 Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.
According to the ECI, the seizures amounted to Rs 27.21 crore in Gujarat in the last assembly polls. The seizures were made after the Model Code of Conduct came into in effect following the declaration of the election dates in the respective states.
Also read| Close contest on cards in Saurashtra, region that could make or break BJP’s chances
According to the numbers released by the ECI, Rs 17.50 crore worth liquor was seized in Himachal while 1,10,000 litres of liquor valued at Rs 3.86 crore was seized from dry state Gujarat. While Rs 1.20 crore worth drugs were recovered in Himachal, Rs 94 lakh worth drugs were seized in Gujarat. While a whopping Rs 64.56 crore worth freebies were identified in Gujarat, Rs 41 lakh worth freebies were seized in Himachal.
In order to curb the misuse of money in poll-bound Gujarat, the ECI has deployed 69 expenditure observers while there are 23 expenditure observers present in Himachal. As many as 27 constituencies in Gujarat have been identified as expenditure sensitive constituencies and are being closely observed, the EC said in a statement.
Also read| Gujarat Elections 2022: AAP banking on Patidars to power its debut in BJP-ruled state
Visiting both the states ahead of the elections, the ECI team led by Chief Election Commissioner Anup Kumar reviewed the the preparedness of several enforcement agencies like the Income Tax, the Excise departments and the police, ordering strict vigil on the illegal mining operations in Himachal and the flow of cash, liquor and other substances coming from these areas.Elections in Himachal Pradesh are scheduled to be held in a single phase on November 12 while Gujarat will vote in two phases on December 1 and 5. The election results for both states will be declared on December 8.