Bihar Polls: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has intensified its efforts to curb the use of money power, freebies, liquor, and narcotics in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections and bye-elections in eight Assembly Constituencies.
Following the announcement of the election schedule on October 6, 2025, the Commission issued strict directions to all enforcement agencies, including the State Police, State Excise Department, Income Tax Department, FIU-IND, RBI, SLBC, DRI, Customs, ED, NCB, and several others, to ensure clean and fair elections.
Expenditure Observers have been deployed across constituencies to monitor candidates’ spending and are coordinating with teams engaged in expenditure monitoring. Flying Squads, Surveillance Teams, and Video Surveillance Teams have also been put on 24×7 alert to track any attempts to influence voters through illicit means.
The ECI has activated the Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) to record real-time reports of seizures made by various enforcement teams during the election period. Since the announcement of elections, enforcement agencies have seized cash, liquor, drugs, and freebies worth Rs 33.97 crore.
The Commission has instructed authorities to ensure that ordinary citizens are not inconvenienced during checks and inspections. It also urged the public to report any election-related violations or malpractice through the C-Vigil App.
