The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday said it seized cash and goods worth ₹178.78 crore as of March 24, as part of the ongoing election expenditure monitoring and enforcement activities in Tamil Nadu for the Assembly election.
Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, in a statement, said ₹34.64 crore in cash, liquor worth ₹0.79 crore, drugs and narcotic substances worth ₹6.76 crore, precious metals worth ₹112.37 crore, and freebies worth ₹24.22 crore were seized.
She said to ensure strict adherence to the Model Code of Conduct and to prevent electoral violations, a multi-tier enforcement mechanism has been activated across the State. A total of 2,169 flying squad teams have been constituted and deployed throughout Tamil Nadu. These teams are functioning round-the-clock and promptly responding to complaints received through the cVigil app and other channels.
Further, extensive and continuous operations have been carried out across the State for the removal of unauthorised political advertisements and eliminations of defacement on both public and private properties. A total of 4,54,321 public property defacement removal, 2,56,041 private property defacement removal and 544 cases have been filed in connection with this exercise as of March 24, she added.
Published – March 24, 2026 06:41 pm IST
