Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi candidates in the Assembly election fray got Rs 40 lakh cheque each from the party towards polls expenses.
The cheques were given by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Minister for Municipal Administration K T Rama Rao at the time of handing over B forms to contest the polls from the earmarked Assembly constituencies, it is reliably learnt.
There are 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana State and the total official amount paid to candidates by the cash rich BRS will be Rs 47.60 crore.
Congress and other parties provide some material support, but poll expenses are reportedly taken care by candidates themselves, sources in the parties said.
Election Commission of India, the statutory authority which conducts polls for Assembly and Lok Sabha in the country, has hiked the limits of candidate’s expenses last year.
For Assembly constituencies, expenditure limits have been enhanced from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 40 lakh in bigger states and from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 28 lakh in smaller states.
The ceiling on parliamentary poll expenditure has been hiked from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 95 lakh in bigger states and Rs 54 lakh to Rs 75 lakh in smaller states.
Telangana joins Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka, and the smaller states include Goa, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and UTs, where the limit is Rs 40 lakh.
Candidate admits taking a cheque
“I received a cheque of Rs 40 lakh from the BRS towards poll expenditure. We have to submit accounts of expenditure for the campaign,” a candidate told Newsmeter.
Since it’s the official amount, all the candidates show their expenditure within the prescribed limit of Rs 40 lakh despite the fact that the expenditure runs into crores, depending on the candidate and assembly constituency.
According to conservative estimates of contesting candidates from major political parties like ruling BRS, Congress, BJP, the election expenses range from Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore, depending on the candidate and constituencies.
“When chances of winning are less, the candidates normally don’t spend much. Ruling party always have advantage and the money, muscle power as compared to opposition parties in Telangana and other States. In Telangana, BRS is financially strong,” asserts a Congress candidate.
The Election Commission has already fixed rates of expenditure for various items including food, paraphernalia for polls including vehicles, banners, public address system, chairs, tables, function halls, posters, advertisements etc.
Liquor, cash flow like water
While liquor and cash flow like water in any election over the years, it remains unaccounted, Obviously, there is no mention of distribution of cash and liquor which are officially taboo.
Election Commission formed a committee comprising Sri Harish Kumar and others to study the election cost factors and other related issues, and make suitable recommendations.
The Committee sought suggestions from political parties, Chief Electoral Officers and Election Observers. The Committee found that there has been increase in number of electors and Cost Inflation Index since 2014 substantially.
Unlike in the past, social media is dominating the media scene and influencing voters besides newspapers and TV.
Mismatch between cash and expenditure
However, there is always a mismatch between the actual expenditure incurred by candidates/parties, ground reality and EC fixation of election expenditure.
Last revision in the election expenditure limit for candidates was carried out in 2014, which was further increased by 10 per cent in 2020.
According to workers in various political parties, the candidates give Rs 500 each to its workers for election campaign per day—9 am to 5 pm along with lunch and transport. The amount is more if the timings and work is more.
During polling, the booth level workers get Rs 1000 each plus lunch.
“In the past, supporters used to come for a rally, public meeting by any mode of transport, but not now. They demand AC cars, buses and other cosy vehicles,” a BJP leader said.
