Poll inducement seizures cross Rs 865 crore in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu ahead of elections | India News
NEW DELHI: The cumulative amount of possible election inducements in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu has crossed Rs 865 crore, with the former reporting 96% of the value of seized liquor and the latter 88% of illegal cash seizures.While Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 23, West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and 29. The Rs 865-crore seizure made since the activation of the EC’s Selective Seizure Management System (ESMS) on February 26, 2026, was almost equally shared by West Bengal (Tk 427 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Tk 438 crore). Of the total cash seizure of Rs 99 crore, Tamil Nadu accounted for Rs 78 crore and West Bengal for Rs 21 crore. Around 31.9 lakh liters of liquor worth Rs 81 crore were seized in West Bengal, while 97,107 liters worth Rs 3 crore were seized in Tamil Nadu.The value of free forfeiture is almost the same for both the states – Rs 172 crore in West Bengal and Rs 178 crore in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu leads the way in the seizure of precious metals, with a value of Rs 105 crore compared to West Bengal’s Rs 54 crore. Drugs worth Rs 100 crore were seized in West Bengal and Rs 74 crore in Tamil Nadu. The EC, in a series of review meetings with Chief Secretaries, Chief Electoral Officers and DGPs of the two constituencies and their bordering states as well as heads of enforcement agencies, directed them to ensure violence-free, intimidation-free and incitement-free elections. It has deployed more than 5,011 flying squad teams and 5,363 static surveillance teams across the two states for this purpose.
