A private member bill regarding amending the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951, and removal of caps on expenditure (Electoral Expenditure ) by candidates contesting polls was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on July 26, 2019 by the Congress member Rajeev Gowada.
He suggested a National Election Fund having two components: the first half of the amount to be set aside and given to political parties based on their previous historical election performance; and the second half to be allocated towards encouragement of newer parties.
Making a reference to a recent report by Centre for Media Studies, which claimed that ` 60,000 crore was the total election expenditure incurred by various political parties in the 2019 Lok Sabha, Gowda appealed to the Minister of Law and Justice of India, Ravi Shankar Prasad, to ensure that the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951, is amended.
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However, BJP’s Vinay P Saharsabuddhe opposed the bill, saying the proposal to remove limits on poll expenditure (Electoral Expenditure)would be a surrender to those with money power and encourage ‘material populism’. The removal of poll spend limit would make it almost impossible for the poor to contest elections.
As per the February 2014 amendment to Rule 90 of the Conduct of the Election Rules, 1961, a candidate contesting Lok Sabha polls can spend up to ` 70 lakh in all states except Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry, where the expenditure has been kept at ` 54 lakh.
In case of assembly constituencies, the maximum limit has been increased to ` 28 lakh in all states except Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Puducherry, where the expenditure has been kept at ` 20 lakh.
All this is due to the increase in the number of electors, polling stations, as well as the increase in the cost inflation index.
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