Lok Sabha polls: Inducements worth Rs 8,889 crore seized (45 per cent drugs)

Authorities have seized cash, drugs and inducements worth Rs 8,889 crore that were allegedly for use to influence voters in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission said on Saturday, 18 May.

At 45 per cent, drugs formed the biggest chunk of the total seizures. The narcotics seized were worth around Rs 3,959 crore, the Commission said.

Drugs, liquor, precious metals, freebies and cash influence elections in varying degrees, some flowing directly as inducements while others through reduced levels of circulation of money, the poll authority said.

The commission said it has laid special emphasis on the seizure of narcotics and psychotropic substances, since analysis of data found that states and union territories that used to be transit zones are increasingly becoming consumption territories of drugs.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, Narcotics Control Bureau and the Indian Coast Guard in joint operations made three high-value seizures of drugs in just three days, amounting to Rs 892 crore, the poll panel noted.

A total of Rs 849.15 crore in cash, Rs 814.85 crore worth of liquor, drugs worth Rs 3,958.85 crore and precious metals worth Rs 1,260.33 crore have been seized so far, it added.