Candidates can now pump in more money in poll campaign

On EC's recommendation, Ministry of Law and Justice raises spending limits of candidates, just before assembly polls in five states

The candidates can now officially pump in more money in campaigns as the Union Ministry of Law and Justice has raised the limits of expenses in the assembly and parliamentary polls.

With the Election Commission preparing to declare the schedule of the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, Union Ministry of Law and Justice on Thursday has issued a notification, enhanced the limits of expenditures for the candidates, not only in the five states but also in other states across the country.

A candidate contesting in any assembly constituency in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh will now be able to pump in Rs 40 lakh for campaigning – Rs 12 lakh more than what she or he could have officially spent had the expenditure limits not been revised. The spending limit for each candidate contesting in any assembly constituency in Goa and Manipur has also been raised from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 28 lakh.

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The Union Ministry of Law and Justice accordingly notified the revised expenditure limits after the Election Commission accepted the recommendation of a committee it had constituted in October 2020 to study the issue.

The expenditure limit for a candidate contesting assembly elections has been raised from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 40 lakh for Karnataka and most of the other States. It has been raised from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 28 lakh for Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Goa and Puducherry. The spending limit for a candidate contesting for a Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and most of the other states has been raised from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 95 lakh. It has been raised from Rs 54 lakh to Rs 75 lakh for Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Goa and Puducherry, according to the notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The new spending limits for the candidates will come into force immediately and allow the ones contesting the forthcoming assembly elections in the five states to pump in more money.

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The last major revision in the election expenditure limit for candidates was carried out in 2014. It was further increased by 10% in 2020. The EC had in October 2020 set up a committee comprising Harish Kumar, a retired officer of the Indian Revenue Service, Umesh Sinha, Secretary General of the commission, and Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, to study the cost factors and other related issues, and make suitable recommendations.

The committee invited suggestions from the political parties, Chief Electoral Officers and Election Observers. It took note of the 12.23% increase in the number of electors from 834 million to 936 million between 2014 and 2021. It also took into account the 32.08% increase in the Cost Inflation Index from 240 to 317 between 2014-15 and 2021-22. It also factored into the changing modes of campaigning, particularly its gradual shift to virtual mode.

The EC accepted the recommendations of the committee and decided to enhance the existing election expenditure limit for candidates.

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