For a few lakhs more

Cynicism about the nature of election spending is evident from first reactions to the Cabinet decision to raise expenditure limits by two-thirds. Each Lok Sabha candidate can now legitimately plough in Rs 25 lakh into his campaign, instead of the earlier Rs 15 lakh. Assembly aspirants can splurge Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, instead of the earlier Rs 3-6 lakh limit. This, agree politician and voter, only renders campaign budgets more realistic as candidates’ war chests were already said to exceed prescribed limits. The revised estimate, therefore, is little more than a nod to inflation; a true beginning in election finance reform is still awaited.

Certainly, setting limits on expenditure would be a key component of electoral reform — that is, reform aimed at curbing corruption and levelling the electoral playing field for all participants. Limits on expenditure, however, are meaningless without viable mechanisms to ensure proper auditing and disclosure of expenses. Indian politics, it has been famously said, is capital intensive. It is also incredibly difficult to quantify. Party funding is a rather shadowy activity. In an effort to make it more transparent, Parliament allowed private corporations to contribute to a political party’s treasury. However, till parties — and, by extension, their electoral candidates — are made fully accountable, campaigning will remain fraught with possibilities of illicit quid pro quos. In any case, the current ceiling on poll expenditure considerably tilts the balance in favour of candidates belonging to big parties. For costs incurred by the party machinery for ancillary campaign activity may be excluded from a candidate’s ledger.

It is time the possibility of public funding is given due consideration. Countries as far-flung as France and Costa Rica, Germany and South Africa, the US and Australia, have introduced a measure of accountability and fairness through state funding of elections. In India, candidates now enjoy some state aid in the form of free television time. In the early ’90s, the Goswami Committee recommended that the state embark by supporting candidates in kind, if not cash — by supplying petrol, paper for posters, electoral lists, and so on. It could be worth a try.