New Delhi, 07 May (H.S.):

The Election Commission strictly enforced the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, as well as bypolls on seven seats in five states, seizing illegal items worth more than ₹1,400 crore.

The Commission conducted multiple review meetings with chief secretaries, CEOs, DGPs, and senior officials from the concerned states. Additionally, 376 expenditure observers, 7,470 flying squad teams, and 7,470 static surveillance teams were deployed to ensure violence-free, fear-free, and inducement-free elections.

These seizure operations were made more effective through the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) platform, which facilitated coordination and information sharing among various agencies. Active since February 26, the platform recorded total seizures of ₹1,444.96 crore up to May 6.

The Commission noted that these seizures represent a 40.14% increase compared to the 2021 general elections, when ₹1,029.93 crore worth of items were confiscated. West Bengal recorded the highest growth at 68.92%, followed by Tamil Nadu at 48.40%.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar