Jaipur: Anta, the only assembly constituency in the state that is going to polls on Tuesday, has witnessed staggering money power during the campaign. Since implementation of the code of conduct, liquor, narcotics, freebies, and cash of over 21 crore have been seized by the election commission and other agencies in the assembly constituency. Eight illegal weapons and five cartridges were also seized from the seat.
The code of conduct for the by election on this seat was enforced on October 6th, and the constituency of just 228,000 voters has witnessed the rampant use of money power. According to Election Commission data, illicit liquor worth ₹19.27 lakh, narcotics worth ₹35.46 lakh, freebies, and other items worth ₹20.55 crore, and cash worth ₹11.34 lakh have been seized in Anta.
The seat is poised for a triangular fight between Morpal Suman of BJP, former minister Pramod Jain Bhaya from Congress, and independent candidate Naresh Meena.
Although the result of the by-election will not impact the political scenario of the state, the involvement of heavyweights has made the contest interesting, and the amount of seizure is indicating how the stakes are high in the seat.
Anta is part of theBaran-Jhalawar Lok Sabha constituency represented by Dushyant Singh, son of former CM Vasundhara Raje, so the Raje family is directly involved in the election battle for the seat. Raje has been campaigning here for the last four days and has done two roadshows with CM Bhajan Lal Sharma.
While the Congress candidate Pramod Jain Bhaya is a two-term minister with great influence over the entire Baran district.
The independent candidate Naresh Meena had made headlines a few months ago by slapping an officer during a by-election.
Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer, Naveen Mahajan, said that all preparations have been made to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful election for the Anta assembly by-election. Strong security arrangements have been made to ensure smooth voting on November 11th and counting on November 14th.
