The Chhattisgarh Police seized Rs 11.50 lakh in cash from a vehicle belonging to a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in the Korba district on Thursday, a day before the state’s second phase of the Assembly elections, reported PTI.

The police said that former MLA Ram Dayal Uikey, the BJP nominee from the Pali-Tanakhar seat in Korba, was present in the vehicle when the cash was seized.

“Some local villagers intercepted Uikey’s vehicle near Jhunkidi village under the Pasan Police Station area and informed the police around 1 am,” said Korba Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla.

He added the cash was seized after Uikey failed to produce supporting documents.

Pali-Tanakhar is among the 70 out of 90 Assembly seats in the state that will go to polls on Friday. The first phase of elections in 20 seats was held on November 7, with nearly 78% voter turnout. The state is currently being ruled by the Congress as the party won 68 out of 90 seats in the 2018 Assembly polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 15 seats.

Officials said on Thursday that they have seized unaccounted cash, illicit liquor and other items worth Rs 73.90 crore till Wednesday since the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the state on October 9. They said that Rs 20.15 crore in cash has been seized so far.

In the run-up to the 2023 elections, the BJP has on several instances accused the ruling Congress of corruption.

On Wednesday, the last day of campaigning for the polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the residents of Chhattisgarh know that only the BJP can bring the state out of the “clutches of corruption and misgovernance”.

“Congress’ crushing defeat in this election is certain,” Modi tweeted. “People are trusting the good governance of the BJP and not the empty promises of the Congress. The BJP is determined and committed to fulfilling its every resolution.”

During an election rally in the Kanker district on November 2, the prime minister had accused the Congress of engaging in “nepotism and corruption”.

“The Congress has committed the biggest betrayal with the youth of Chhattisgarh,” he had said. “They did not fulfil their promises. On the contrary, they committed corruption in recruitment [for government jobs]. They turned the state’s PSC [Public Service Commission] into the office of the Congress Committee.”