Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has earmarked six of the 42 Parliamentary constituencies (PCs) of Bengal as “financially sensitive”.
Malda North, Malda South, Darjeeling, Asansol, Kolkata North and Bongaon feature in the list. This is the first time that constituencies in Bengal have been declared “financially sensitive”.
In the past three polls, Bengal witnessed an increase in the confiscation of illicit funds. EC data states that in the 2014 LS polls, illegal cash of about Rs 18.93 crore was seized which increased to Rs 44.33 crore in the 2016 Assembly polls and further rose to Rs 118.04 crore in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, the cash seizure was about Rs 300.11 crore. ECI has engaged the ED to investigate illegal financial transactions and locate expenditure-sensitive constituencies. “All 20 enforcement agencies, including ED, IT, DRI and state agencies like State Excise, State GST will work in tandem to monitor the banking transactions and probe into illegal cash flow through international borders,” a senior ECI official said.