Cracking down on voter inducement by political leaders in the State, the Election Commission has made seizures totalling ₹9.297 crore, including cash, liquor, drugs, and metals, in the last 48 hours. The model code of conduct for the Assembly elections is yet to be enforced in the State.
ADVERTISEMENT
The amount of cash seized was ₹1.2 crore, while liquor worth ₹2.66 crore, narcotics worth ₹1.88 crore, precious metals worth ₹1.9 crore, and other items (freebies) worth ₹1.58 crore were seized, said a statement from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar during his three-day poll preparedness review in the State last week said that the use of money power was a major concern in Karnataka. While the Election Commission was prepared in terms of physical infrastructure, the State agencies were lagging behind in regulating the distribution of freebies, he had said.
He had directed officials to extensively use sections 171-B and 171-E of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to regulate such malpractices.