Election Commission press release · 7 May 2026 · pibtracker filter

General Elections to Legislative Assemblies and bye-elections 2026

PRID2258673 MinistryElection Commission Released7 May 2026 Reading6 min

Over Rs. 1400 crores worth of illicit inducements seized Posted On: 07 MAY 2026 2:26PM by PIB Delhi Election Commission of India (ECI) had taken several measures to ensure strict compliance with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 7 ACs of 5 states. MCC ceases to be in operation in these States/UTs except the Assembly Constituency of 144-Falta in West Bengal. During the conduct of elections, the Commission held multiple review meetings with the Chief Secretaries, CEOs, DGPs, and senior officers from the poll-going States/UT and their bordering States/UTs along with the Heads of Enforcement Agencies. 376 Expenditure Observers drawn from IRS (IT), IRS (C&IT), IA&AS, IRAS, IDAS, IP&TAFS and ICAS, 7,470 Flying Squad Teams (FSTs) and 7,470 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) were also deployed to ensure violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free elections. The seizures were facilitated by the IT platform - Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) - which enhanced inter-agency coordination and streamlined communication between them for sharing actionable input. Since the activation of ESMS on February 26, 2026, the total amount of seizures up to May 6, 2026, is as below: S.N State Cash (Rs. Crores) Liquor Qty (Litres) Liquor Value (Rs. Crores) Drugs Value (Rs. Crores) Precious Metal Value (Rs. Crores) Freebies /Other (Rs. Crores) Total (Rs. Crores) 1 . Tamil Nadu 105. 22 137248. 53 4. 94 78. 61 165. 86 307. 65 662. 28 2. West Bengal 31 . 14 5858648. 98 151 . 86 130. 28 69. 36 190. 77 573. 41 3. Assam 6. 07 828248. 33 22. 71 70. 08 3. 68 14. 7 117. 24 4. Kerala 12. 12 78215. 3 2. 51 58. 47 2. 25 5. 33 80. 67 5. Puducherry 0. 33 18340. 35 0. 39 0 8. 99 0. 02 9. 72 TOTAL 154. 89 6988793. 38 183. 33 337. 88 250. 14 518. 73 1444. 96 The figures represent a 40.14% increase in seizures as compared to 2021 General Elections in these States/UT when the seizures had amounted to Rs. 1029.93 crores. West Bengal saw the highest increase in the seizures of 68.92% and Tamil Nadu saw an increase in seizures of 48.40% in 2026 compared to the corresponding over the corresponding figures during the LA elections of 2021. ********** PK/GDH/RP (Release ID: 2258673) Visitor Counter : 1137 Read this release in: Punjabi , Urdu , हिन्दी , Marathi , Bengali , Bengali-TR , Assamese , Gujarati , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam Election Commission General Elections to Legislative Assemblies and bye-elections 2026 Over Rs. 1400 crores worth of illicit inducements seized Posted On: 07 MAY 2026 2:26PM by PIB Delhi Election Commission of India (ECI) had taken several measures to ensure strict compliance with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 7 ACs of 5 states. MCC ceases to be in operation in these States/UTs except the Assembly Constituency of 144-Falta in West Bengal. During the conduct of elections, the Commission held multiple review meetings with the Chief Secretaries, CEOs, DGPs, and senior officers from the poll-going States/UT and their bordering States/UTs along with the Heads of Enforcement Agencies. 376 Expenditure Observers drawn from IRS (IT), IRS (C&IT), IA&AS, IRAS, IDAS, IP&TAFS and ICAS, 7,470 Flying Squad Teams (FSTs) and 7,470 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) were also deployed to ensure violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free elections. The seizures were facilitated by the IT platform - Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) - which enhanced inter-agency coordination and streamlined communication between them for sharing actionable input. Since the activation of ESMS on February 26, 2026, the total amount of seizures up to May 6, 2026, is as below: S.N State Cash (Rs. Crores) Liquor Qty (Litres) Liquor Value (Rs. Crores) Drugs Value (Rs. Crores) Precious Metal Value (Rs. Crores) Freebies /Other (Rs. Crores) Total (Rs. Crores) 1 . Tamil Nadu 105. 22 137248. 53 4. 94 78. 61 165. 86 307. 65 662. 28 2. West Bengal 31 . 14 5858648. 98 151 . 86 130. 28 69. 36 190. 77 573. 41 3. Assam 6. 07 828248. 33 22. 71 70. 08 3. 68 14. 7 117. 24 4. Kerala 12. 12 78215. 3 2. 51 58. 47 2. 25 5. 33 80. 67 5. Puducherry 0. 33 18340. 35 0. 39 0 8. 99 0. 02 9. 72 TOTAL 154. 89 6988793. 38 183. 33 337. 88 250. 14 518. 73 1444. 96 The figures represent a 40.14% increase in seizures as compared to 2021 General Elections in these States/UT when the seizures had amounted to Rs. 1029.93 crores. West Bengal saw the highest increase in the seizures of 68.92% and Tamil Nadu saw an increase in seizures of 48.40% in 2026 compared to the corresponding over the corresponding figures during the LA elections of 2021. ********** PK/GDH/RP (Release ID: 2258673) Over Rs. 1400 crores worth of illicit inducements seized" /> Election Commission of India (ECI) had taken several measures to ensure strict compliance with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and bye-elections in 7 ACs of 5 states. MCC ceases to be in operation in these States/UTs except the Assembly Constituency of 144-Falta in West Bengal.</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">During the conduct of elections, the Commission held multiple review meetings with the Chief Secretaries, CEOs, DGPs, and senior officers from the poll-going States/UT and their bordering States/UTs along with the Heads of Enforcement Agencies.</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">376 Expenditure Observers drawn from IRS (IT), IRS (C&IT), IA&AS, IRAS, IDAS, IP&TAFS and ICAS, 7,470 Flying Squad Teams (FSTs) and 7,470 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) were also deployed to ensure violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free elections.</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">The seizures were facilitated by the IT platform - Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) - which enhanced inter-agency coordination and streamlined communication between them for sharing actionable input. Since the activation of ESMS on February 26, 2026, the total amount of seizures up to May 6, 2026, is as below:</li>   <table border="1" bordercolor="#ccc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="Table" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:35.0pt"> S.N </td> <td style="width:78.0pt"> State </td> <td style="width:49.0pt"> Cash (Rs. Crores) </td> <td style="width:72.0pt"> Liquor              Qty (Litres) </td> <td style="width:63.0pt"> Liquor Value (Rs. Crores) </td> <td style="width:64.0pt"> Drugs Value (Rs. Crores) </td> <td style="width:64.0pt"> Precious Metal Value (Rs. Crores) </td> <td style="width:64.0pt"> Freebies /Other (Rs. Crores) </td> <td style="width:57.0pt"> Total (Rs. Crores) </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:35.0pt"> 1 . </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:78.0pt"> Tamil Nadu </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:49.0pt"> 105. 22 </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:72.0pt"> 137248. 53 </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:63.0pt"> 4. 94 </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:64.0pt"> 78. 61 </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:64.0pt"> 165. 86 </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:64.0pt"> 307. 65 </td> <td style="background-color:#cccccc; width:57.0pt"> 662. 28 </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:35.0pt"> 2. </td> <td style="width:78.0pt"> West Bengal </td> <td style="width:49.0pt"> 31 . 14 </td> <td style="width:72.0pt"> 5858648. 98 </td> <td style="width:63.0pt"> 151 . 86 </td> <td style="width:64.0pt"> 130. 28 </td> <td style="width:64.0pt"> 69. 36 </td> <

For UPSC

Total seizures: over ₹1,400 crore; tracking via ESMS activated February 26, 2026; 376 Expenditure Observers deployed; 7,470 Flying Squad Teams and 7,470 Static Surveillance Teams used across Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal.

Original PIB release
pib.gov.in · PRID 2258673

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General Elections to Legislative Assemblies and bye-elections 2026

For UPSC

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