The Hindu : Kerala News : Plea to relax ceiling on campaign expenses

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Kerala

Plea to relax ceiling on campaign expenses

N.J. Nair

Parties say electioneering costs have gone up

Sharp rise in publicity bill
Parties evolving novel ways to campaign

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leaders of political parties feel the Central Election Commission (CEC) should relax the ceiling on campaign expenses of candidates for elections to the Lok Sabha.

The existing limit of Rs.25 lakh for a Lok Sabha constituency and Rs.10 lakh for an Assembly contestant is meagre to meet the expenses.

Senior leaders who ran the campaign of the rival fronts have sought a reasonable revision based on a realistic assessment of the rising expenses of electioneering. As per rules, candidates have to submit a statement of expenditure within a month of the announcement of results. To avoid legal wrangles, the candidates present a detailed statement within the stipulated time, “which is often hastily arranged and not representative of the facts and figures.”

Political leaders say an upward revision of the election expense ceiling would encourage the candidates to file true statements in place of “doctored” ones.

These would not show expenses in excess of the prescribed limits, which is not feasible in the case of serious contestants, they said.

The former Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman, who monitored the United Democratic Front (UDF) campaign, is a strong votary of upward revision of expenses.

“Effective campaigning would have an impact on the election results too.

The existing limit is meagre and it should be at least doubled. Even in the case of candidates whose expenses are met by the parties, the applicable limit is insufficient,” he said.

He said spade work for the elections had begun well before hitting the trail and necessary funds were mobilised to meet the preliminary expenses. The change in the campaign mode has intensified the competition, with parties employing novel ways and means to reach out to the voters.

Compared with the earlier elections, the publicity bill has been rising consistently. From fee for artistes for graffiti writing, printing of colour posters and flex boards, to frequent rise in oil prices, even a minor fluctuation in wholesale prices reflect on the election expenditure.

Footing the routine needs of foot soldiers who take the campaign to the grassroots level and meeting a gamut of unforeseen expenses is no easy task either.

District panchayat president and CPI(M) State committee member Anavoor Nagappan, who headed the LDF campaign in the capital, too felt that a judicious revision of spending limits was essential.

“There is a mismatch between the permitted limit and the real printing cost and rentals. The commission should seriously think of raising the limit,” he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson M.S. Kumar was the only one to strike a different note. Mr. Kumar said the candidates should learn to manage their campaign within the permissible limits.

Public nuisance

The low-key campaigning in the neighbouring States should serve as a model to them. Such restrictions will help avoid massive fund mobilisation and would not be a nuisance to the public, he says.

A State Election Department official said raising the limit would further tempt the contestants to find ingenious ways of raising more money. Though a proposal for government-funding of elections came up earlier, no

serious discussions have been made on the proposal so far, sources said.

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