A day before the first phase of Assembly elections, Election Commission (EC) on Sunday said its teams have seized over Rs46 crore illegal cash in the five poll-bound States, with the maximum Rs18.16 crore confiscated in Tamil Nadu.
It is followed by Assam where Rs11 crore in cash has been seized by the election authorities till now.
In West Bengal, the figure stands at Rs8.05 crore, while Rs7.99 crore has been seized in Kerala till now. In Puducherry, about Rs60.87 lakh illegal cash has been seized, the latest EC data said. The seizures have been made by EC-appointed special flying squads and surveillance teams and those drawn from the Income Tax department.
“The total progressive figure of seizures made till now is about Rs46.11 crore,” a senior official said. The model code of conduct for these polls came into force on March 4 when the EC announced the schedule for the five states and soon after wards the special teams were deployed to curb the use of illegal inducements to voters.
The whole exercise spread over 43 days, the first phase of Assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal begins tomorrow, while polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be held on May 16.