(This story originally appeared in on Apr 02, 2019)

CHENNAI: The seizure of Rs 11.5 crore in cash at a cement godown in Vellore district by the IT investigation wing on Monday appears to have confirmed the Election Commission 's worst fears about the influence of money in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu . Intelligence agencies have estimated that more than Rs 10,000 crore could be pumped in by various political parties into campaigning and for bribing voters in TN and Puducherry by April 18, the polling day.The poll panel has already designated all 40 LS seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, along with 70 other seats across the country, as "expenditure sensitive". So far, Rs 78.12 crore in cash has been seized in the state.During Monday's predawn raid, I-T sleuths found new currency bundles dumped in gunny bags and cardboard boxes at the godown in Vellore in northern Tamil Nadu. The godown is owned by a DMK functionary. Many bundles were in Rs 200 denomination. Some were neatly packed in envelopes with details of municipal and village wards written on them. I-T officials said they were meant to be distributed among voters.A senior RBI official said the present seizure, unlike the earlier ones - especially the seizure of Rs 24 crore in Rs 2,000 denomination - in Chennai and Vellore after demonetisation in 2016, can be tracked to the bank that disbursed the cash.DMK treasurer S Duraimurugan's son Kathir Anand is the party candidate in Vellore LS constituency. I-T officials have been searching the premises of Duraimurugan and Kadhir since Friday. During the search at their house in Katpadi, officials seized Rs 10.5 lakh with ward details and amounts written on them. "We have established a link between the papers seized from Duraimurugan's house and the envelopes seized from the godown," said a senior I-T investigation official.