Revision as of 19:05, 29 November 2016

2011: West Bengal assembly elections

The Times of India, June 26, 2011

Cong spend in Bengal poll highest

With average expenditure of 7L, CPM budget the lowest: Study

The 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal saw the CPM having the lowest average poll expense followed by Trinamool Congress. The average spending by the Congress candidates was the highest at 64.7%.

Smita Bakshi of Trinamool, a candidate from Jorasanko constitutency in West Bengal, made the highest expenditure of Rs 15.65 lakh against the Election Commission’s limit of Rs 16 lakh. Even the lowest expenditure was by Trinamool’s Namita Saha from Magrahat Purba constituency. Hamidul Rahaman, an independent candidate from Chopra constituency, spent Rs 15.21 lakh, the highest by an independent in the state.

Detailed analysis released by ADR-Election Watch on Saturday shows that the average money spent by 217 newly elected MLAs of West Bengal was only Rs 7 lakh, 44% of the expense limit of Rs 16 lakh.

Only six MLAs have declared that they spent more than 80% of the amount. A total of 147 MLAs have declared election expenses less than Rs 8 lakh. Out of 217 MLAs analysed, three declared that they did not spend any money on public meetings, processions, etc. As for expense on campaigning through electronic or print media, 163 MLAs declared they did not spend any amount, while 26 MLAs spent less than Rs 10,000.

In Kerala also, the expenditure by ruling CPM candidates was 50.8%. Congress candidates spent 62.8% of the limit while Muslim League candidates spent 65.9% and those of the Kerala Congress (M) 69.8%.

Only four MLAs declared that they spent more than 80% of the limit of Rs 16 lakh. The maximum expense of Rs 15.26 lakh was declared by Basheer of Muslim League from Eranad constituency in Kerala, followed by Kunhalikutty of Muslim League from Vengara (Rs 13.99 lakh) and B Sathyan of CPM from Attingal constituency (Rs 13.8 lakh).

The minimum expense of Rs 2.49 lakh has been declared by K Kunhiraman of CPM from Udma constituency followed by Jayalakshmi of Congress from Mananthavady with an expense of about Rs 4 lakh and K K Jayachandran of CPM from Udumbanchola with an expenditure of Rs 4.5 lakh. In Kerala, 54 MLAs declared that they did not spend any money on campaigning through electronic or print media.

In Assam, the average money spent by MLAs was only Rs 9 lakh, about 56% of the expense limit of Rs 16 lakh. The average expenditure of Congress’s 78 MLAs was Rs 10.12 lakh, Rs 8.26 lakh for 12 MLAs of Bodo People’s Front, Rs 7.45 lakh for Asom Gana Parishadand Rs 6.36 lakh for All India United Democratic Front’s 18 MLAs .

The maximum expense of Rs 15.99 lakh was delared by Abu Taher Bepari of Congress followed by Monika Bora and Nazrul Islam, both of Congress. The minimum expense of Rs 1.73 lakh was declared by Abul Kalam Azad of AIUDF followed by party colleague Moinuddin Ahmed who spent Rs 2.12 lakh.

Pre-poll cash seizures

2016: Tamil Nadu

The Times of India, May 13 2016

Pre-poll cash seizure in TN Rs 100cr, highest-ever in history

Sivakumar B

Total cash seized in Tamil Nadu since the model code came into effect has crossed Rs 100 crore, the highest ever in the history of Indian elections. However, Andhra Pradesh holds the record for combined seizures of cash and material worth Rs 140 crore during the 2014 Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.

Seizures in TN include recent raids on the Chennai office of a distillery owned by a former DMK minister's family, from which Rs 3.58 crore was confiscated, and Rs 2 crore seized from a DMK candidate in Karur in central TN. In earlier instances, Rs 4.87 crore was seized from a businessman close to an AIADMK minister. In Chennai, more than Rs 3 crore was also seized from a flat in upmarket Egmore early this month. Officials have also seized goods worth Rs 70 crore, mostly liquor, meant for distribution to voters.

“More than than the long period of the model code of conduct being in effect in Tamil Nadu, it is the new strategies adopted by the EC to con trol money power which has yielded results. In coming days, surveillance in all 234 constituencies will be strengthened and we will take utmost care to prevent distribution of money to voters by any political party,“ Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi told TOI.

Apart from cash, surveillance teams have seized thousands of litres of liquor, ganja, gold and silver, the CEC said. Of the total cash seizures, nearly Rs 38 crore has been returned to its owners after they produced documents showing the source.The rest is believed to have been meant for use as inducements to influence voters.

Man arrested for taking money for vote

The Times of India

In the first-ever action taken against a voter for receiving money from candidates or their representatives in the state, a farm labourer was arrested in Katpadi on Thursday for receiving Rs 1,000 allegedly from some DMK functionaries.

Flouting EC norms

Tamil Nadu: 2016

The Times of India, April 19, 2016

The Thirumangalam Formula; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, April 19, 2016

The Times of India, Apr 19 2016

50% poll spends flout EC code, here's how it happens

Jayaraj Sivan

The Election Commission is worried about the growing influence of cash in campaigning -from mobilising crowds for rallies to payouts to voters. Days ago, when RBI governor Raghuram Rajan flagged the spike in cash circulation during polls, he grabbed the attention of CEC Nasim Zaidi. The CEC was set to ask RBI for inputs so the matter could be followed up on. The EC in TN tied up with Facebook for a campaign: My Vote Is Not For Sale. Will the efforts impact voters?

Poll expenditure is in cash, leaving no trail for the EC to chase it. Nearly 50% of expenses are for activities that qualify as code violation.

About 30% is spent hiring vehicles, aircraft and payment to cadre, roughly 20% is used for advertising. A senior TN official estimated that up to Rs 9,000 crore is spent during a state election.Parties have already dispatched BATTLE money to various destinations, but handout to voters will happen days TAMI before polling. Going by experience, the EC may not be able to stop it.

Netas too are blasé. In June 2013, late BJP neta Gopinath Munde conceded that he spent Rs 8 crore on his 2009 LS campaign. (In 2014, the upper limit was revised to Rs 70 lakh). He added: “I hope no EC official is in the audience.“

Munde won in 2014. In the run-up to the 2009 LS polls, when the EC estimated that the elections could cost the EC, government and parties Rs 5,000 crore, research centre CMS estimated the cost would be double that for parties and netas. Analyst Raveenthiran Doraisamy feels barely 5% voters are influenced by bribes: “Many , even after taking money, vote as per their choice.“

But the practice has only grown. “The dis ease of lavish election spend is spreading,“ former CEC T S Krishnamurthy said. In `The Miracle of Democracy: India's Amazing Journey ,' he says, “Elections are essential but not enough; it is possible to have elections without sustainable democracy. If the election is flawed, it is worse than not having an election at all, for it opens the floodgates for social injustice and authoritarianism.“

There's no cap on expenditure par ties incur and much of the individual spend is shown as party expenditure.

Former CEC N Gopalaswami says the EC has mooted a CAG audit of party income and expenditure. Over half the candidates quote 50% of ROUND permitted spend when submitting NADU accounts after elections.

“It's not possible to sift through hours of footage to crosscheck. EC scrutinises the returns only if there are specific complaints,“ he says. When election tracking NGO Association for Democratic Reforms reviewed affidavits of 6,753 candidates ahead of the 2009 LS polls, it found only four had said they spent beyond the limit, says Jagdeep Chokkar.

“Only 30 candidates said they spent more than 90% of the permitted amount. The majority said they spent only 45%-55% of the limit. Still, the parties clamour to raise the spending limit.“