Seizures totaling more than Rs 1,760 crore have been reported so far in the five poll-going states since the announcement of the model code of conduct, the Election Commission said on Monday.

The recorded seizures mark a significant increase of over seven times as compared to the 2018 assembly polls in these states (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram). The total seizures during that period stood at Rs 239.15 crore.

According to the Election Commission (EC), cash worth Rs 372.9 crore, liquor worth Rs 214.8 crore and drugs worth Rs 245.3 crore were seized till Monday. The highest cash seizure among the five states was reported from Telangana with Rs 225.23 crore, followed by Rajasthan Rs 93.17 crore and Madhya Pradesh Rs 33.72 crore.

The cash seizure in the northeastern state of Mizoram was nil.

Out of the total liquor seizures, the highest was reported from Telangana Rs 86.82 crore, followed by Madhya Pradesh Rs 69.85 crore and Rajasthan at Rs 51.29 crore.

The poll panel said out of the drugs worth Rs 245.3 crore seized, Telangana reported the highest with drugs worth Rs 103.74 crore, followed by Rajasthan Rs 91.71 crore and Mizoram Rs 29.82 crore.

“The seizure figures from the ongoing elections in the five states and few previous state assembly elections demonstrate EC’s unwavering commitment to ensuring free, fair and inducement free elections by implementing robust measures to monitor inducements and curb electoral malpractices for a level playing field,” it said.

It may be mentioned that seizures over Rs 1,400 crore were done in the past six state assembly elections held in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Karnataka, which is 11 times of the previous assembly elections in these states.

The EC also informed that it has also embedded technology into the monitoring process through the election expenditure monitoring system (ESMS) which is proving to be a catalyst, as it has brought a wide array of central and state enforcement agencies together for better coordination and intelligence sharing.

“ESMS is an endeavour aimed at quick sharing of information by intercepting enforcement agencies to other relevant agencies for multiple deterrence. It provides easy coordination at CEO and DEO level with multiple enforcement agencies involved in election expenditure monitoring process.

“The platform facilitates real-time reporting, saves time in collecting and compiling reports from various agencies and better coordination,” it said.

The efforts on close monitoring will further continue in the poll- going states till completion of the elections and the figures of seizure are expected to rise further, the EC added.