the story So Far:
The total expenditure of the US presidential and congressional elections in November 2024 is estimated to be around US$16 billion (equivalent to ₹1,36,000 crore). According to the Center for Media Studies (CMS), the total expenditure of various political parties for the Lok Sabha general elections this year was around Rs 1,00,000 crore.
What are the borders in India?
The election expenditure limit for candidates in larger states is ₹95 lakh per Lok Sabha constituency and ₹75 lakh in smaller states. Regarding legislative assemblies, they are ₹40 lakh and ₹28 lakh for larger and smaller states respectively. These limits are determined from time to time by the Election Commission (EC). There is no limit on the expenditure of political parties during elections.
What are the international standards?
In the US, elections are financed primarily by contributions from individuals, corporations, and political action committees (PACs). While there are limits on individual and PAC contributions to candidates, various U.S. Supreme Court decisions have resulted in the creation of super PACs that have no limits on spending. Of the projected spending in the November 2024 election cycle, the presidential election is estimated to cost approximately $5.5 billion. The balance on elections for the House of Representatives and Senate of the US Congress is approximately $10.5 billion. This huge increase was driven by large donations from organizational donors and super PACs.
In the UK, a political party is allowed to spend £54,010 per constituency. This means there is a £35 million limit for parties contesting elections in all constituencies. Limits have also been imposed on candidates’ spending during the campaign period. This means, per constituency, an average of £46–49,000 during the long campaign period (five months before the full term of the House of Commons ends) and £17–20,000 during the short campaign period after the election is declared.
What are the challenges?
Elections have become very expensive in democracies around the world. Such increased expenditure, which is met primarily through large donations, creates an unholy relationship between elected representatives and favor-seeking donors. This acts as an entry barrier into electoral politics for many good citizens.
In India, candidates from all major political parties violate election expenditure limits by large margins. Furthermore, there is no limit on expenditure by political parties during elections. The official expenditure declared by BJP and Congress for the 2019 elections was ₹1,264 crore and ₹820 crore respectively. However, according to a CMS report, ₹50,000 crore was spent by various parties during the 2019 elections.
Reports suggest that 35% of this money was spent on campaigns and publicity, while 25% was illegally distributed among voters. CMS has estimated that the expenditure by various political parties during the 2024 elections was around ₹1,00,000 crore. Such increased election expenditure promotes corruption, resulting in a vicious cycle.
What could be the possible improvements?
The Inderjit Gupta Committee (1998) and the Law Commission Report (1999) have advocated state funding of elections. This would mean that the government partly bears the election expenses of candidates nominated by recognized political parties. However, the feasibility and mechanism of implementing this measure in the current context is questionable.
Simultaneous elections are considered a panacea to solve the problem of increasing election expenses. This idea faces challenges due to the principles of federalism and constitutional amendments that require debate. It should also be noted that this mechanism can rein in campaign and publicity expenditure to some extent. However, without curbing illegal distribution of cash to voters, simultaneous elections of any kind will not have any significant impact on election expenditure.
In this regard, some practical steps can be implemented to create a level playing field with regard to election expenditure if there is political will. These are based on the Election Commission’s 2016 report on ‘Proposed Electoral Reforms’. First, the law should be amended to clearly provide that the ‘financial assistance’ given by a political party to its candidate should also be within the prescribed election expenditure limit of the candidate. Secondly, there should be a limit on the expenditure of political parties. It cannot exceed the expenditure limit provided for a candidate multiplied by the number of candidates of the contesting party. Ultimately, additional judges may be appointed to the High Courts for speedy disposal of election-related cases, which will act as a deterrent against violation of these norms. These reforms will require bipartisan political support and will need to be implemented quickly.
Rangarajan R. Is a former IAS officer and author of ‘Polity Simplified’. The views expressed are personal.
published – October 28, 2024 10:45 PM IST