Rajasthan Assembly Elections: Ahead of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, enforcement agencies have confiscated Rs 244 crore in cash over the last 15 days, officials said on Tuesday.
Law enforcement agencies in Rajasthan have been closely monitoring the situation, with the police, excise department, income tax department, and other enforcement agencies working diligently. As a result, they have set a "new record" in terms of seizing illegal items, including cash, liquor, drugs, gold, silver, and more. In total, the seizure amount for the year 2023 has surpassed Rs 1,000 crore, according to officials.
Rs 1,021 crore seized so far in 2023
According to officials, this year there has been a three-fold increase in the total seizure. In 2021, the total seizure was Rs 322 crore, which increased to Rs 347 crore in 2022. However, the total seizure amount has surged to Rs 1,021 crore so far in 2023.
Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta has stated that since June, the election commission has been actively collaborating with various enforcement agencies. During this period, they have successfully seized cash and other materials amounting to Rs 648 crore.
In the last 15 days (from October 9 till now), cash and other material worth Rs 244 crore have been seized, officials said. Gupta said that during this period, Rs 39.30 crore in cash was seized by police, the Income Tax Department and other agencies. Similarly, over 10.60 lakh litre of illicit liquor worth Rs 20.12 crore was seized by the Excise Department, police and other agencies.
He said that a significant amount of illegal drugs and psychotropic substances worth Rs 46.76 crore were successfully seized through coordinated efforts involving the Narcotics Control Bureau, police, and other agencies. Additionally, gold, silver, and other precious metals with a total value of Rs 30.40 crore were confiscated by the police, Income Tax Department, and Customs Department.
He said that freebies and other items worth Rs 84.22 crore have also been seized by various agencies.
Rajasthan elections
Rajasthan will go to polls on November 25 while the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Rajasthan has 200 total seats. In Rajasthan – which will see a direct fight between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on November 25 – anti-incumbency is an important factor. Since 1993, when the BJP came to power after a stint of President’s rule, the state has alternated between the Congress and the BJP.
In 2018, Congress won 100 seats in the 2018 Assembly polls. BJP followed at 73 seats while BSP garnered 6 seats. Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) gathered 3 seats with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) mustering 2 seats each. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) managed to grab just one seat while there were 13 independent candidates in the 2018 Assembly Elections.
(With PTI inputs)
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