The Election Commission has sought suggestions from recognized national and state-level parties regarding the spending limit for candidates in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
In a letter sent on December 7, the Commission has asked various parties to send their views and suggestions about the election spending limit for candidates in future Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The commission asked the parties to send their views to the nodal officer of the committee constituted in October to amend the spending limit. There is a limit for candidates to spend in an election campaign but there is no such restriction on political parties.
The committee has been tasked to look into the subject of revising the spending limit for the candidates for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in view of the increase in the number of voters and increase in the spending inflation index.
The spending limit for the candidates was last revised in 2014. This limit was increased in 2018 for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. While announcing the formation of the committee, the commission said in October that the spending limit had not been increased in the last six years while the number of voters had increased from 83.4 crores to 91 crores in 2019 and now it has risen to 92.1 crores.
However, during this period, the spending inflation index increased from 220 to 280 in 2019 and now it has risen to 301. The committee is expected to submit its report next year. In view of the difficulties faced in the election campaign amid the coronavirus epidemic, the government in October increased the current spending limit by 10 percent based on the recommendations of the Election Commission. This increase of ten percent was applicable in Bihar assembly elections and various by-elections.
The maximum spending limit for the candidates varies from state to state i.e. more in big states and less in small ones. According to the Law Ministry notification released in October, a candidate can spend Rs 77 lakh for campaigning for Lok Sabha elections in big states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, and Haryana.
Till now the limit was 7 million. At the same time, the maximum spending limit for assembly elections was increased from 28 lakh to 30.8 lakh rupees. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Telangana and Delhi In the Lok Sabha elections, the limit of publicity expenses is 77 lakh and for the assembly elections is Rs 30.8 lakh.
Candidates in Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura can spend Rs 77 lakh for the Lok Sabha elections and Rs 22 lakh for the assembly elections. In Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, and Ladakh, candidates can spend Rs 59.4 lakh for the Lok Sabha elections and Rs 22 lakh for the assembly elections.