With the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 just around the corner, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made the seizure of Rs.4,650 crore. Making Election Commission on the track to record a biggest overhaul of the inducements in the 75-year history of the general elections in the country on Friday.
This marks the drastic increase in the seizure of inducements if the whole of the 2019 Lok Sabha election is taken into account.
As Revealed by the ECI, 45% of the seizures are of drugs and narcotics, which happen to be under the special focus of the commission. The Commission further revealed that the “The seizures have been possible by comprehensive planning, scaled up collaboration and unified deterrence action from agencies, proactive citizen participation and optimal engagement of technology.”
Coming to the breakdown of the distribution of the seized inducements by the States, according to the released data, Rajasthan was at the top where the seizure of Rs. 778 crore was seized. Followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra with seizure of Rs.605 crore and Rs.431 crore respectively.
This seizure comes just after the last month when the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, made an emphasis on ‘Money power’ as one of the 4M challenges i.e, Money, Muscle, Disinformation and the Model Code of Conduct violations.
Emphasizing more on the money power, Commission’s statement further said that the “Use of black money, over and above political financing and accurate disclosure thereof, may disturb the level playing field in favor of a more resourceful party or candidate in specific geographies.”
These enhanced seizures on Election Commission of India’s part, reflects the steadfast commitment to keep a track on inducements and curbing electoral malpractice to ensure a level-playing field for the various political parties especially for the smaller & less resourceful parties according to the Poll Body’s statement.