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EC sets cap on poll expenses: Rs 16 lakh for each candidate -Geeta Gupta
-The Indian Express


New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has fixed the upper limit for poll expenses by each candidate contesting the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi at Rs 16 lakh. The cap on poll expenses has been increased by Rs 2 lakh from the earlier Rs 14 lakh.

The Delhi Election Commission said the expenditure limit would be followed "strictly" and monitored thoroughly. Even a winning candidate would face disqualification if violation of the expenditure limit by the candidate was proved by the EC.

A workshop of representatives of all the major political parties in the fray for the upcoming elections has been called at the Chief Election Office on Tuesday. "Before we enforce the expenditure limit and the model code of conduct, it is also important to educate the politicians about the dos and don'ts," Delhi's Chief Election Officer Vijay Dev told Newsline.

The Delhi EC has appointed special enforcement teams, expenditure observers, flying quads, videographers and video surveillance teams to keep a strict vigil on the expenditure incurred by the parties and their candidates.

"It is mandatory for each candidate to maintain an expenditure register and get it signed by the expenditure observer every three days. The observers will maintain dummy expenditure registers simultaneously, listing the current market rates of all items, to compare with the expenditure quotations given by the candidates," Dev said.

The videographers, for example, will record all the expenses made by candidates on hoardings, posters, pandals, stages, chairs and other things, while the expenditure observers will calculate the actual expenses based on the current market rate of items. "The monitoring of the expenditure limit has somewhat been lost in the past. But the EC is going to be very strict this time. If any politician is proved to have crossed this limit and violating the expenditure norm, he or she will have to face disqualification even if the said candidate has already won the election," Dev said.

Expenses on election-related bulk SMSes sent by candidates will also be monitored and considered an election expenditure incurred by the candidate.

At the workshop to be held with political parties, the EC is going to educate politicians about the dos and don'ts on election expenditure. The workshop will discuss things like the need for a candidate to open an account for poll expenses on the day he files nomination papers. All election-related transactions will be made in this account. Cheques and funds provided by the party will also have to be deposited in this account.

Apart from Delhi, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh also go to the polls later this year. While the dates have not been finalised yet, Delhi is likely to go to the polls in November, while the model code of conduct will likely be implemented by the end of September.