Key Points
The ECI announced the seizure of ₹108 crore worth of illegal inducements ahead of the 2025 Bihar Elections.
It recovered ₹9.62 crore in cash, ₹42.14 crore, or 9.6 lakh litres, of alcohol, ₹24.61 crore of drugs, ₹5.8 crore worth precious metals, and ₹26 crore of other freebies
It has directed enforcement agencies to moniter the flow of illegal inducements and asked parties and citizens to register any complaints on the C-Vigil App or the voter helpline: 1950.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Monday, 3 November 2025, that it had seized ₹108 crore worth of illegal inducements leading up to the 2025 Bihar Elections. The inducements spanned cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals, and other freebies from Bihar and eight other Assembly Constituencies heading to by-elections in November.
The ECI stated in a press release that it had recovered ₹9.62 crore in cash, ₹42.14 crore, or 9.6 lakh litres, of alcohol, ₹24.61 crore of drugs, ₹5.8 crore worth precious metals, and ₹26 crore of other freebies. The recoveries were made through a joint effort launched by multiple enforcement agencies in line with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
The ECI has directed relevant authorities to ensure that movement of all inducements is monitored, while at the same time ensuring that ordinary citizens are not inconvenienced or harassed during the checking and inspection process.
The MCC is a set of guidelines that limit political campaigning by parties and candidates leading up to elections. It defines constraints on general conduct, meetings, and processions, manifesto content, and behaviour on polling days and at booths for those contesting the election. It also restricts the ruling party from abusing their official position or applying undue influence on the polls.
Notably, the MCC restricts undertaking any work, distributing freebies, or electing new officials to positions in the runup. The MCC comes into effect on the day the election schedule is announced and lasts till the process concludes.
Any violation of the MCC can be reported by citizens or parties through the C-Vigil App on ECINET. The ECI has also setup a complaint monitoring system with a 24x7 call centre number – voter helpline: 1950 – where a complaint can be registered with the relevant District Election Officer or the Regional Officer. The ECI also announced that 824 flying squads have been deployed across Bihar to ensure compliance with complaints registered on the C-Vigil App within 100 minutes.
See Also: Bihar Elections 2025: 8 Key Constituency and Candidates to Watch in the Two-Phase Poll Battle
On 4 November 2025, the Election authority also announced that it has commenced with the 2025 International Election Visitors’ Program (IEVP). The IEVP, in practice since 2014, is an event used to show off India’s election mechanism and best practices to foreign Election Management Bodies and International Organisations.
This year, 14 dignitaries from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Colombia, South Africa, France, and Belgium attended the session, which featured a presentation on India’s election processes. The group is set to visit Bihar on 5 and 6 November 2025, where they will visit the EVM dispatch centre and witness actual polling.
The 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections are to be held in two phases on 6 and 11 November 2025, while by-polls in the eight constituencies – Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Telangana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Odisha – are scheduled for 11 November 2025. Results for the Bihar election and the by-polls will be declared on 14 November 2025. [Rh]
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