Lok Sabha Elections: Record Rs 10,000 Crore Seizures Made, Says Poll Body Chief

Authorities have made seizures of Rs 10,000 crore, including cash, freebies, drugs and liquor, during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as compared to Rs 3,500 crore in 2019, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Monday.

The seizures come at a time when funding avenues for political parties remain under cloud since the Supreme Court judgement earlier this year, when it struck down the electoral bond scheme of anonymous donations. Concerns have been raised over illicit means of political funding that can be used to lure voters.

Ahead of the start of the general elections in April, the commission had said it has made arrangements with law enforcement agencies to detect movements of materials used for voter inducements. The poll body oversees security agencies like police and paramilitary personnel during polls.

India created a world record with 64.2 crore voters, including 31.2 crore women, participating in the Lok Sabha elections this year, Kumar said. Addressing a press briefing, he said over 68,000 monitoring teams and 1.5 crore polling and security personnel were involved in the world's largest electoral exercise.

On social media memes calling election commissioners 'Laapataa Gentlemen', Kumar said, "We were always here, never went missing. Now memes can say the 'Laapataa Gentlemen' are back."

The ECI chief said that nearly four lakh vehicles, 135 special trains and 1,692 air sorties were used for conducting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "Only 39 repolls took place in the 2024 general elections as against 540 repolls in 2019," he said.

The CEC further said that Jammu and Kashmir recorded its highest turnout in four decades at 58.58% overall and 51.05% in the valley.

(With PTI inputs)