Rs 54 cr cash seized in AP ahead of polls

A whopping Rs 54 crore of cash has been seized in Andhra Pradesh so far ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, an election commission official here said today.
Besides Rs 54,00,49,827 of cash, 1,400 licenced arms have either been deposited with police or impounded, state's Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal said in a statement.
The Election Commission has identified Andhra Pradesh as "expenditure sensitive" state and decided to deploy one or more expenditure observers in each Parliamentary constituency to keep a tab on the spending by the candidates.
Polling for the Lok Sabha seats would be held on April 30 in Telangana and on May 7 in Seemandhra.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) met the CEO and apprised him of the difficulties faced by the business community due to cash seizures.
"The delegation lauded the measures taken by the Election Commission for curbing rampant movement of cash during the election, however it brought to the notice of CEO that this is causing undue hardship to the business community," FAPCCI said in a release.
Routine movement of cash for business transactions should not be hampered, it said.