EC confiscates voter rewards worth over 650 cr from poll-restricted states like UT

New Delhi: Potential voter incentives worth over Rs 650 crore have been election committee Teams from five polling states/UTs, with West Bengal accounting for nearly half of the seizures so far.Since the launch of the Electronic Seizure Management System (ESMS) on February 26, 2026, flying squads and static surveillance teams have reported cumulative seizures worth Rs 319 crore in West Bengal, Rs 170 crore in Tamil Nadu, Rs 97 crore in Assam, Rs 58 crore in Kerala and Rs 7 crore in Puducherry.By category, freebies accounted for the largest share of seizures in terms of value (Rs 231 crore), followed by drugs (Rs 230 crore), liquor (Rs 793 million), precious metals (Rs 58 crore) and cash (Rs 532 million).According to data seized by the European Commission during the 2021 Assembly polls, its total value has exceeded Rs 1,000 crore as of April 16, 2021, when polls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry ended and Bengal passed halfway. Tamil Nadu topped the list with seizures of Rs 446.3 crore, followed by Bengal (Rs 300 crore), Assam (Rs 122 crore), Kerala (Rs 85 crore) and Puducherry (Rs 37 crore).