Inducements worth Rs 1,445 crore seized during recent polls; recovery 40% more than last time

New Delhi: Inducements worth Rs 1,445 crore have been seized during the recent elections to five assemblies, with Tamil Nadu topping in cash seizures and West Bengal in liquor and drugs, the Election Commission said on Thursday.

The figures represent a 40.14 per cent increase in seizures as compared to the 2021 assembly polls in these states/UT, when the seizures amounted to Rs 1029.93 crore.

West Bengal saw the highest increase in the seizures of 68.92 per cent, and Tamil Nadu saw an increase in seizures of 48.40 per cent in 2026 compared to the corresponding figures during the 2021 elections.


According to the data shared by the poll authority, while nearly 155 crore illicit cash was recovered in the four states and Union Territory of Puducherry, liquor worth Rs 183.33 crore (around 70 lakh litres) was also seized.

Cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other inducements such as sarees, clothes, pressure cookers, utensils and even television sets are doled out to electors to induce them to vote for a particular party.

Drugs worth nearly Rs 3,338 crore were recovered from the states and Union territory with West Bengal topping the recoveries at Rs 30.28 crore. No drug recoveries were reported from Puducherry.

Polls to elect new governments in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry were held in April, and votes were counted on May 4.