BENGALURU: Till Wednesday, March 27, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, had seized cash and other items worth Rs 55,76,67,520; this increased to Rs 60,38,41,15 on Thursday, March 28 -- an indication of the quantum of money involved in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
During the last elections, the Election Commission had expressed concern over financially rich states and the challenge of holding fair elections, and Karnataka had topped the list then. EC officials echo the same concern this year too.
CEO, Karnataka, Manoj Kumar Meena told The New Indian Express that the use of money in elections is a matter of concern in the state, which is why they had started holding meetings, raids and seizures six months ahead. Cross-border meetings had also started six months ago, and checks were intensified.
Meena said seizures would rise in the coming days, with the filing of nominations. “We will need to be more vigilant. We are also working with special teams from other departments, including narcotics, customs, civil aviation, commercial taxes, IT and others. Though paramilitary teams are deployed, additional teams will also be deployed,” he said.
As per data, the seizures include sarees and other items worth Rs 2,51,86,306, besides freebies of Rs 65,43,178. Enforcement officials seized gold worth Rs 9,01,82,132, silver worth Rs 26,19,340 and diamonds worth Rs 9,00,000.
An election official noted that liquor and cash seizures are also on the rise. Till March 28, 2024, liquor worth Rs 26,35,95,935 has been seized, this includes spurious and unaccounted-for liquor. Static Surveillance Teams, Flying Squads, Police and I-T department have seized Rs 20,14,99,187 in cash. Drugs worth Rs 88,37,280 were also seized so far.
Even before the model code of conduct was announced, from August 1, 2023, to March 14, 2024, election officials had seized items worth Rs 537.51 crore. They had also filed 4,710 FIRs for the same period.
A senior election official said soon after the first phase of elections is over, police, paramilitary forces and other security personnel will be sent to Karnataka as additional forces. “The exact number of security personnel cannot be disclosed, but the number to be deployed here is on the rise. We have also identified sensitive constituencies, booths and districts, where special security measures are being put in place. The Election Commission will be approached for more forces, if need be,” said the official.