Political

Political

Elections 2026: Over Rs. 1400 crores worth of illicit inducements seized

• By A Correspondent, New Delhi
• May 07, 2026
• 429

1. Election Commission of India (ECI) had taken several measures to ensure strict compliance with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 7 ACs of 5 states. MCC ceases to be in operation in these States/UTs except the Assembly Constituency of 144-Falta in West Bengal.
2. During the conduct of elections, the Commission held multiple review meetings with the Chief Secretaries, CEOs, DGPs, and senior officers from the poll-going States/UT and their bordering States/UTs along with the Heads of Enforcement Agencies.
3. 376 Expenditure Observers drawn from IRS (IT), IRS (C&IT), IA&AS, IRAS, IDAS, IP&TAFS and ICAS, 7,470 Flying Squad Teams (FSTs) and 7,470 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) were also deployed to ensure violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free elections.
4. The seizures were facilitated by the IT platform - Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) - which enhanced inter-agency coordination and streamlined communication between them for sharing actionable input. Since the activation of ESMS on February 26, 2026, the total amount of seizures up to May 6, 2026, is as below:

5. The figures represent a 40.14% increase in seizures as compared to 2021 General Elections in these States/UT when the seizures had amounted to Rs. 1029.93 crores. West Bengal saw the highest increase in the seizures of 68.92% and Tamil Nadu saw an increase in seizures of 48.40% in 2026 compared to the corresponding over the corresponding figures during the LA elections of 2021.