Gujarat, Himachal assembly elections: EC makes 'record seizures' of freebies

Ahead of upcoming assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, the Election Commission claimed that it made "record seizures" of cash, liquor and freebies in the two states. It said that seizures in Gujarat amounted to Rs 71.88 crore while it amounted to Rs 50.28 crores in Himachal Pradesh. It further stated that the commission's thorough planning, assessments, and follow-ups, which included the active participation of enforcement agencies, resulted in record seizures.

Earlier, while announcing the dates of the Gujarat assembly polls, Rajiv Kumar, the chief election commissioner, had stressed on conducting inducement-free elections. The poll panel said there has been a five-fold increase in seizures in Himachal Pradesh compared to the 2017 assembly elections.The Commission said its comprehensive planning led by Chief Election Commissioner Kumar ahead of the polls has given "encouraging" results in terms of seizures."Days after the polls were announced in State of Gujarat, activity by police has led to seizure of around 1,10,000 litres of liquor valued at Rs.3.86 Crores," the EC said in a statement.

Gujarat witnessed seizures of Rs 71.88 crore in just a few days of the announcement of elections, which surpasses even the seizures made in the entire duration of enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct in the 2017 assembly elections, which was Rs 27.21 crore.Similarly, the seizures in Himachal Pradesh are also significant, amounting to Rs 50.28 crore as compared to Rs 9.03 crore, marking more than a five-fold increase, it said.While Himachal Pradesh will go to poll on November 12, Gujarat will have voting on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes for both states will take place on December 8.