As per a notification issued by the law ministry on October 19, 2020, the ceiling on poll expenditure for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections has been increased by 10 per is accordance with recommendation by the Election Commission taking in view curbs imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, though the reason for increase is not mentioned in the concerned notification. Last time, the increase was made in 2014. The move will help candidates contesting the Bihar Assembly polls as well as those fighting by-polls to 59 Assembly seats across 11 states and one Lok Sabha seat. Three-phase Assembly polls in Bihar are scheduled on October 28, November 3 and 7.
The ceiling on poll expenditure varies from state-to-state. In bigger States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, candidates for assembly elections are allowed to spend up to ` 30.8 lakhs compared to ` 28 lakhs earlier. Similarly, for a candidate contesting a Lok Sabha poll in these States, the revised ceiling on poll expenditure is now ` 77 lakhs compared to ` 70 lakhs earlier.
In Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and a few UTs, the enhanced ceiling for a Lok Sabha candidate is now ` 59.4 lakhs and for those contesting an assembly, it is up to ` 22 lakhs.
As per Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, every candidate shall keep a separate and correct account of all expenditure, incurred between the date on which he has been nominated and the date of declaration of the result. The candidates are required to submit their expenditure statement to the ECI within 30 days of the completion of the elections. As per Section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, if an incorrect account or expenditure beyond the cap is made, it can result in disqualifying of the candidate by the ECI for up to three years. There is no cap on a political party’s expenditure, which is often exploited by candidates of the party. However, all registered political parties have to submit a statement of their election expenditure to the ECI within 90 days of the completion of the elections.
Courtesy: The Hindu