The cumulative amount of potential public opinion bait seized in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu reaches 10.72 billion rupees

New Delhi: Cumulative seizures of potential election bait in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have reached Rs 1,072 crore, with the former accounting for 96 per cent of the value of liquor seized and the latter accounting for 78 per cent of the illegal cash seizures.Tamil Nadu will go to polls in one phase on Thursday, while West Bengal will go to polls in two phases on Thursday and April 29.The total value seized since the launch of the Election Commission’s Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) on February 26, 2026, is Rs 1,072 crore, with Tamil Nadu accounting for Rs 599.2 billion (56%) and West Bengal accounting for Rs 472.9 billion (56%).Of the Rs 127.7 crore cash seized, over Rs 100 crore was in Tamil Nadu and Rs 275 crore in West Bengal. About 3.93 million liters of liquor worth Rs 102.5 crore was seized in West Bengal, while 1.20 lakh liters of liquor worth Rs 38 crore was seized in Tamil Nadu.Tamil Nadu’s capturewd freebies are worth more at Rs 259 crore, while West Bengal’s is Rs 1788 million. Tamil Nadu reported almost three times the amount of precious metal seizures than West Bengal. Drugs worth Rs 108 crore were seized in West Bengal and Rs 767 million in Tamil Nadu.The Election Commission, in multiple review meetings with the chief secretaries, chief electoral officers and general electoral officers of the two polling states and their bordering states, as well as heads of law enforcement agencies, directed them to ensure violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free elections. For this purpose, it has deployed over 5,011 flying squads and 5,363 static surveillance teams in the two states.