Five-fold increase in seizure of cash and bribes before key Indian state elections
Himachal Pradesh goes to the polls this weekend, an election commissioners are struggling to ensure ‘inducement-free elections’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Election Commission of India [ECI] revealed on Friday that there have been “record seizures” of cash, liquor and other vote-winning freebies made in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat ahead of the upcoming state elections.
Himachal Pradesh goes to polls on Saturday while Gujarat will have its assembly elections on 1 and 5 December.
The chief election commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, stressed the importance of “inducement-free elections” and noted the significant increase in the amount of seizures made in Himachal Pradesh in particular.
He said that in Himachal Pradesh, there has been a five-fold increase in seizures as compared to 2017.
Gujarat witnessed seizures of cash and goods worth Rs 718.8m [$8.8m] in just a few days after the announcement of the election dates, which surpasses those made in the entire previous election period for the state assembly in 2017, which was Rs 272.1m [$3.36m], the ECI said.
The seizures in Himachal Pradesh amounted to Rs 502.8m [$6.2m] as compared to Rs 90.3m [$1.1m] five years ago, marking more than a five-fold increase.
The ECI statement attributed the record seizures in the two states to “comprehensive planning, reviews and follow-ups” by the commission.
The ECI conducts raids ahead of polls to seize any large stockpiles of cash, alcohol or any other potential freebie, particularly when those stashes are associated with a political party, to prevent them being used as give-aways for voter manipulation.
The commission urged citizens to remain vigilant and asked them to use the cVigil app – which enables people to photograph and take videos of any violations of the “model code of conduct”, the rules governing election periods in India.
Distributing cash and gifts with the intention of influencing votes during any electoral process in India is not permitted under the law.
The ECI says that this expenditure comes under the definition of “bribery”, and that expenditure on such items is illegal.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments