Nation set to face costliest polls

Candidates henceforth would not have to account for cost of nomination forms, expenditure on security deposit, expenditure on purchase of electoral rolls and cost of identity slips given to voters during house-to-house campaigning.

EC sources say though Rs 600 to 800 crore is not too high considering the size of the electorate and the sheer magnitude of logistics involved in conducting a general election, the alarming frequency of elections as seen in the recent past would spell trouble from the the economic point of view. The EC had earlier suggested that the expense ceiling should be now put at Rs 15 lakh and the power to revise the limit should be vested in it. In the 1996 general elections, besides the Rs 600 crore spent by the government, 13,952 candidates accounted for a permissible expenditure of Rs 620 crore approximately.

But, sources clarify, unofficial figures would be much more. Clause 77 of the Representation of People Act exempts the expense incurred by a political party from the permissible ceiling. Says the rule book: Notwithstanding any judgment, order or decision of any court to the contrary, any expenditure incurred or authorised in connection with the election of a candidate by a political party or by any other associations or body of persons or by any individual (other than the candidate or his election agent) shall not be deemed to be, and shall not ever be deemed to have been, expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorised by the candidate or by his election agent for the purpose.

Then, different ceilings exist for parliamentary elections and assembly polls and that too differs from state to state. Thus while parliamentary candidates in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal can spend up to Rs 4,50,000, the ceiling for their counterparts in small states like Mizoram (Rs 1,90,000) and Sikkim (Rs 1,50,000) is lower. EC sources say the major avenues of expenditure are printing of ballot papers, election materials (forms and covers, indelible ink, voting compartments), repair and maintenance of ballot boxes, TA/DA for training and poll duty, vehicle and transport charges, public conveyances and amenities for voters, counting-related expenses, security-related expenses and telecommunications.

In Karnataka, the EC had incurred an expenditure of Rs 28 crore for the 1996 general elections and Rs 22.40 crore for the 1994 Assembly elections. A five percent escalation in the costs is predicted for the coming elections, state election office says.

The states are reimbursed the incurred expenses in parliamentary elections through the Central Law Ministry, whereas, if Assembly and Parliamentary polls are held together, then the state and the centre share the expenses on a 50:50 basis. The expenditure incurred in conducting general elections has shown a steady rise over the years In 1967 it was nearly Rs 11 crore, ’72 – Rs 14.5-cr, ’77 – Rs 30-cr, ’79-80 – Rs 37-cr, ’84 – Rs 78-cr, ’89 – Rs 110-cr and ’91 – Rs 350-cr. The forthcoming mid-term polls promises to be the most expensive so far.