New Delhi: The central government raised the poll expenditure limit by 10 per cent on the account of a recommendation by the Election Commission. The election administration body had pointed out that candidates contesting in the upcoming elections could face difficulties during the campaign due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The expenditure limit is notified under Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules and any change requires the law ministry’s approval.
The notification issued by the Law Ministry said the maximum expenditure a candidate can incur for campaigning in Lok Sabha polls is now Rs 77 lakh.
The last time the expenditure ceiling was raised ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014.
The notification will help candidates contesting the Bihar Assembly polls as well as those fighting bypolls to 59 Assembly seats across 11 States and one Lok Sabha seat.
The ceiling on poll expenditure varies across States, with candidates in Assembly elections in bigger States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu now allowed to spend up to Rs 30.8 lakhs. For a candidate contesting a Lok Sabha poll in these States, the revised ceiling on poll expenditure is now Rs 77 lakhs instead of the earlier amount of Rs 70 lakhs.
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Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and a few Union Territories, based on the size of their constituencies and population, have a lower ceiling on poll expenditure. Here while the enhanced ceiling for a Lok Sabha candidate is now Rs 59.4 lakhs those contesting an Assembly can spend up to Rs 22 lakhs.
Over a month ago, the EC had recommended a 10 per cent rise in the expenditure ceiling for all elections to be held during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the problems that candidates may face while campaigning under the various COVID protocol laid down by the poll panel.
Election candidates from 20 wenty states and two Union territories --- Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir -- will the benefit of raised expenditure ceilings (Rs 30.8 lakh/Rs 77 lakh revision). Eight states and the Union Territory of Puducherry are in the Rs 22 lakh/Rs 59 lakh cap category.
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Political parties had requested the ECI for an increase in the expenditure limit citing the pandemic and therefore the need for a stronger ‘digital campaign’ which is more expensive than regular poll campaigning modes.
Increasingly social media and publicity are becoming the biggest areas of expenditure.
The ECI now also asks candidates to declare their social media accounts and expenditure towards it including payments made to internet companies and websites for carrying advertisements and also campaign-related operational expenditure on the creative development of content, operational expenditure on salaries, and wages paid to the team of workers employed to maintain these accounts.
Each candidate will have to file details of expenditure incurred in the campaign within 30 days of the declaration of election results.
In case a candidate exceeds the limit prescribed, it is seen as a violation of Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and amounts to corrupt practice under sec 123 (6) of Representation of Peoples Act, 1951.
