Elections 2014: Parties to spend Rs 5,000 crore on polls

Hyderabad: Inflation seems to be catching up with election expenses too. The amount of money spent on Assembly elections in the state has been increasing with every election.

According to a rough estimate, in the forthcoming Assembly elections, the expenditure by all political parties put together will cross Rs 5,000 crore at the very least.

This year there are both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections which means that some of the election expenses can be shared.
In the 2009 Assembly elections, the total election spend was around Rs 3,000 crore, according to one estimate.

A candidate from a major political party contesting an Assembly seat in Telangana spent Rs19 crore, while in the Rayalaseema region one Lok Sabha candidate spent Rs 45 crore. In the municipal polls held recently, two candidates spent Rs 20 lakh each.

According to sources, each Assembly candidate will spend a minimum of Rs 5 crore, from start to finish.From 1999 onwards, DWAKRA groups have been playing an important role in the elections.

Whichever party is in power will start mobilising DWAKRA women for the party’s meetings and they will be paid for attending the meetings. Payments to DWAKRA groups comes to Rs 1 crore for each Assembly constituency. If one party will pay the loan, another party will give money to the DWAKRA groups.

On polling day, all parties erect tents near polling booths to give voter slips to the voters. For this, candidates have to spend Rs 10,000. In each Assembly constituency, there are around 200 polling booths. On polling day, each Assembly candidate has to spent Rs 20 lakh.

Every candidate campaigns for a minimum 15 days before election day. During the campaign, party workers have to be supplied with liquor and food. This can cost Rs 60 lakh for each candidate.

Then there is the illegal but routine practice of bribing voters one day before the day of polling. The amount disbursed will depend on the financial clout of the candidate and what the opponent is paying. The bribe can be up to Rs 1,000 per vote. Even if on an average Rs 200 is paid to, say, one lakh voters that will come to Rs 2 crore.

Overall, the expenditure can mount to Rs 4.50 to Rs 5 crore. There are 294 Assembly constituencies in the state (119 in Telangana, and 175 in Andhra Pradesh). At a minimum spend of Rs 5 crore for each candidate, major political parties will end up spending Rs 1,470 crore for 294 Assembly constituencies.

Each major political party could spend Rs 595 crore in Telangana and Rs 875 crore in Andhra Pradesh. This expense will be shared by the party, the Assembly candidate and the Lok Sabha candidate. Parties will spend in proportion to the votes they expect in different regions.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti will be concerned with just the 119 Assembly constituencies. The Congress will spend more in Telangana than in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP will spend more in Andhra Pradesh than in Telangana. The YSRC will spend more in Andhra Pradesh, and less in Telangana.

In the 1999 Assembly elections, one major political party had distributed Rs 1 lakh to each general candidate and Rs 2 lakh to each SC and ST candidate for election expenses. In 2004, that sum increased to '5 lakh each to general candidates and Rs 7.50 lakh to SC, ST candidates.

In the 2009 Assembly elections, the same party distributed Rs1 crore to every candidate irrespective of the category of the candidate.