Chandigarh: Hour away before the full team of the Election Commission (EC) of India arrives in poll-bound Punjab, authorities confiscated nearly Rs.85 lakh of unaccounted money in cash from various places in the state, state election officials said today.
“On the guidelines of the EC, unaccounted money worth Rs.40 lakh was confiscated from various places in Patiala district. Besides this, currency notes worth Rs.4.5 lakh were seized from Bathinda and Rs.40 lakh from Jagraon district. Some 35 cases of liquor were confiscated from Faridkot district,” said a spokesman for the state’s chief electoral officer (CEO).
The seizures were made by authorities just a day begore the full poll panel, led by Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, arrives in Punjab Tuesday to see arrangements for elections to 117 assembly seats in the state.
The election commission has alraedy announced the one-day poll in Punjab would be held on Jan 30, barely 35 days from now.
Besides Quraishi, Election Commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma, Deputy Election Commissioners Alok Shukla, Chief Electoral Officer Parveen Kumar, and director generals of the commission P.K. Dash and Akshay Rout would visit the state Dec 27.
The team will review poll arrangements Tuesday and will then meet representatives of political parties on Wednesday (Dec 28).
The main contest in the state is between the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine and the Congress. This time, the contests for most seats will be triangular with the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), floated by former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, also entering the fray.
IANS
