Pre-poll seizures in Karnataka made so far since the announcement of the 2023 Assembly elections touched a whopping ₹302 crore on Saturday. This is over 2.5 times higher than what was recorded during the corresponding period in 2018 when ₹115. 91 crore had been seized.
In fact, this time’s seizures are almost equal to the pre-poll seizures made in the last four elections in Karnataka. While ₹14.42 crore was seized in 2013 Assembly polls, ₹28.08 crore was confiscated in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, ₹185.74 crore in the 2018 Assembly polls and ₹88.27 crore in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Nearly 28% of the total seizures, including cash, liquor, drugs, and precious metals have been made in Bengaluru Urban. While ₹81.76 crore have been seized in this district alone, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga follow with ₹33.87 crore and ₹30.82 crore respectively.
