Audit of election expenses not implemented strictly

Khammam: Is the auditing on election expenditure by the candidates being done in a proper way by the election expenditure teams of the Election Commission of India (ECI)? The answer is – the auditing of election expenditure of the candidates is being done for  namesake.

Not a single party or a candidate has been booked for violating norms. The ECI disqualified persons on account of their non-submission of election expenditure accounts and not on the amount that was spent more than the prescribed limit.

The exercise is based on the difference between the expenditure identified by the auditing teams and the affidavit submitted by the candidate on the expenses. With this, the candidates feel now that ‘sky is the limit’ for election expenditure.

In real terms, the expenditure really spent by the candidates does not match with that shown on the papers submitted after the election to the Election Commission of India.  

The election expense limit fixed by the ECI has increased from Rs 16 lakhs in 2013 to Rs 28 lakhs in 2018. This amount includes expenses on public meetings and processions, campaigning through electronic and print media, money spent on campaign workers and materials, and expenses on vehicles.

No candidate, even the candidates contesting from Bahujan Left Front, will spend more than '28 lakhs. At one estimate, the expenditure of a candidate contesting from main parties ranged between '9 crore to '20 crore in this election.

As per the sources, the election expenditure of minister for roads and buildings T. Nageswara Rao has allegedly exceeded 30 times more than the limit in Palair by-election held two years ago.

The ECI will depute an election expenditure observer in each constituency.

The observer will explain the expenditure limit in a meeting of the representatives of political parties to be conducted after an election notification is issued.

The expenditure teams will have a videographer to shoot the rallies, campaigns and the vehicles being used in it. There will be vigilance on money transport and the person travelling in the vehicles is eligible to carry '50,000 as cash along with him.

The police can seize the cash if it is more than the limit. When asked about the election expenditure auditing by the ECI, V. Sambasiva Rao, a political leader said that the cost of the campaign material of a candidate itself will be more than '28 lakhs.

He said that a candidate can be found faulty if he/she exceeds the expenditure limit itself. He said that there is no stringent norms to curb the expenditure.

The election expenditure of all the candidates, contesting from various political parties, in the 10 Assembly segments in two districts will be more than '200 crore.