EC to meet parties on state funding for polls

After consulting the recognised political parties, including the six national parties—the Congress, the BJP, BSP, CPI, CPI(M) and NCP—and 44 state parties on Wednesday, the Commission is expected to prepare its own recommendations which it will send to the Cabinet and later to Parliament for an amendment.

As recommended by the Manmohan Singh Cabinet which will be discussed, recognised political parties are to given ‘‘suitable rent-free accommodation for its headquarters’’, ‘‘one rent-fress telephone with STD facility with a specified number of telephone calls over and above the free calls permitted to any subscriber’’. They parties would also have to decide ‘‘on the amount of time to be distributed on private cable television network and electronic media’’.

As for the candidates, the government proposes to shell out funds for specified quantities of petrol/diesel, paper for printing, postal stamps of a certain specified amount and loudspeakers.

On the day of polls, some minimum arrangements may be made for the candidates’ camps at each polling station, including supply of refreshments and food packets to counting agents.

Over and above the constitutional responsibility of holding elections, the EC would have to work out the scheme of distribution of the above items to parties and candidates.