State polls: Election Commission teams seize over Rs 16 crore in five states

NEW DELHI: Over Rs 16 crores in cash has been seized till now by EC-appointed surveillance teams and check squads in five poll-bound states, with Rajasthan topping the chart with the recovery of Rs 7.13 crore.

Apart from Rajasthan, which goes to polls on December 1, Madhya Pradesh, which will vote on November 25, has recorded a total cash seizure of Rs 5.69 crore, Chhattisgarh 3.86 crore (last phase pollings today) while in both Delhi and Mizoram the seizures have been a few lakhs.

The EC has deployed a team of officials drawn from the Income Tax department, Service Tax and Customs and police officials to be deployed in these states, voting for their respective Assemblies, as 'election expenditure observers'.

The EC teams also separately seized Rs 1.30 crore from Yercaud Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu where by-election is scheduled for December 4.

The teams will be deployed in these states till the counting of votes takes place on December 8 and in Mizoram on December 9.