Election Code robs trade of glitter in Telangana Premium

At Langar Houz police check post in Hyderabad, police officials are enforcing Model Code of Conduct in run-up to Telangana Assembly elections. Seizures of illicit assets amount to ₹340.11 crore, including gold, cash, and liquor. Businesses, especially those reliant on cash transactions, are grappling with uncertainty. Fear of police has led to absence of shoppers in bustling Somajiguda area. Election Commission has implemented SOPs to protect legitimate businesses. Seizures of cash, gold, silver, liquor, and giveaways total ₹243 crore in 11 days. Traders' apex body has written to CEC to check and withhold legitimate cash. Three-member committee to examine each case of seizure and release valuables to rightful owners.

At 1 a.m. on a Sunday, vehicles zip through the barricade of the Langar Houz police check post in Hyderabad that has been set up to curb the clandestine flow of money, alcohol, narcotics, and contraband goods in the run-up to the Telangana Assembly elections on November 30. Inside the makeshift police outpost, three police officials are engrossed on their phones even as a walkie-talkie perched on a plastic chair next to them constantly buzzes with messages. In one corner, two CCTV cameras silently watch over the proceedings. 

This check post, placed between the Cyberabad and Hyderabad Commissionerates, about 10 km apart, is just one of the dozen such outposts set up by the Election Commission of India to enforce the Model Code of Conduct in the poll-bound State.  

The polling date is still more than a month away, but the check posts have already made a startling seizure of illicit assets, amounting to ₹340.11 crore as of 9 a.m. on October 25. This includes gold and precious metals worth ₹156.07 crore, ₹119.44 crore in cash, and liquor worth ₹18.67 crore. However, the income tax department says that only ₹1.76 crore is unaccounted for. The rest has been returned to the rightful owners. 

The announcement of elections days before Dasara and the impending wedding season has cast a shadow over various businesses, especially those that rely heavily on cash transactions. Stringent enforcement measures and seizures have disrupted various sectors, leaving traders grappling with uncertainty during a critical time for their revenue influx. 

A common refrain echoes through the market: “Dhanda kharab ho gaya (Business has been ruined).” Suresh Chand Kothari, secretary of the Pot Market Jewellers Association, says, “The election commission officials are enforcing the rules, but we have to bear the brunt. But ups and downs are part of the business.” Summing up the prevailing sentiment in the market, he adds, “Dahshat bhi hai (There’s a sense of dread too).” 

This fear gripping the gold market has led to a conspicuous absence of shoppers on the bustling high street of Somajiguda, just a stone’s throw from the Chief Minister’s camp office in Hyderabad. This usually congested stretch that houses big-chain retailers such as GRT, Tanishq, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, Kirtilal’s, and Malabar Gold is suddenly free of traffic gridlocks, even on weekends.