Assembly Elections 2026: Over ₹1400 crore worth of liquor, freebies, drugs, ‘precious metal’ seized

More than ₹1400 crore worth of "illicit inducements" were seized during the Assembly Elections across five states/UT -- Puducherry, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the Election Commission said on Thursday.

The "illicit inducements" included cash crores worth ₹154.89 crore, 69.8 lakh litres of liquor worth ₹183.3 crore, drugs worth ₹337.8 crore, "precious metal" worth ₹250 crore and freebies worth ₹518 crore, the Election Commission revealed.

This was the total amount of seizures up to May 6, 2026, the poll body added.

"The figures represent a 40.14% increase in seizures as compared to the 2021 General Elections in these States/UT, when the seizures had amounted to Rs. 1029.93 crores," the Election Commission said in a statement.

It added, "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."

The Election Commission said 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.

In the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, actor-turned-politician Vijay's TVK won 108 seats, the DMK 59, AIADMK 47, Congress 5, PMK 4, IUML 2, CPI 2, CPI-M 2, and the VCK 2. The BJP, DMDK and AMMK have got 1 seat each.

In Puducherry, the All India NR Congress emerged victorious in 12 out of the 16 seats it contested and the BJP won four of the 10 seats it fought. The AIADMK and Latchia Jananayaga Katchi (LJK), other NDA constituents, emerged successful from one seat each and the combine has 18 seats in the 30-member House, two more than the magic number of 16 required to form government.

On the other side the INDIA bloc has garnered six seats--DMK five and one for the Congress. Most of its candidates, including sitting MP and former Chief Minister Ve Vaithilingam, bit the dust in the hustings. Vaithinlingam was defeated by Rangasamy in his turf Thattanchavady.

West Bengal saw a massive defeat of the ruling TMC's Mamata Banerjee. The BJP surged to 207 seats and relegate the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to just 80, marking a seismic shift in Bengal's political landscape.

In Assam, while the BJP won 82 seats, its allies -- the Bodo Peoples' Front (BPF) and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) secured 10 seats each in the 126-member assembly.

In Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front secured a decisive victory, winning 102 seats in the 140-member House, while the Left Democratic Front won 35 seats. The BJP also won three seats.