NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday announced that enforcement agencies could seize cash, liquor, drugs and other inducements worth Rs 865 crore in poll-bound West Bengal and Tamil Nadu as part of its election surveillance mechanism.
It further said that West Bengal accounted for seizures worth Rs 427 crore, while Tamil Nadu recorded RS 438 crore, taking the combined total to Rs 865 crore since the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) was activated on February 26, 2026
According to the official data released by the poll panel, the confiscations included cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other inducement items, which were meant for inducements to influence voters.
In West Bengal, authorities have seized goods and assets worth Rs 21 crore in cash, over 31 lakh litres of liquor, along with drugs, precious metals and other items valued at several crores. Tamil Nadu recorded higher cash and liquor-related seizures, along with significant recoveries of drugs and valuables.
The ECI said more than 5,000 Flying Squad Teams and over 5,300 Static Surveillance Teams have been deployed across both states to monitor violations and ensure swift action on complaints, with response times targeted within 100 minutes.
The Election Commission also said that it was closely monitoring enforcement activities to ensure that genuine voters are not inconvenienced during checks conducted by the surveillance teams, as district-level grievance committees have been set up to address complaints related to enforcement actions.
Citizens and political parties have been urged to report Model Code of Conduct violations through the C-Vigil mobile application, the ECI said, while reiterating that it is committed to conducting free, fair and inducement-free elections across all poll-bound states including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
The ECI will hold 2-phase voting in West Bengal on April 23 and 29 and single phase on April 23 in Tamil Nadu.