Page 10 - 31OCT2019E

CoverStory

aryana is notorious for giving Aya
Ram Gaya Ram-type (in reference
to the practice of MLAs defecting to
other parties) of politics to the coun-
try and now it has added another
feather to its cap by learning how to
H hoodwink authorities in manipu-
lating poll expenditures. Tehelka is in possession of
guidelines concerning the expenditure for various
items to be used in elections issued by authorities but
various candidates know how to fudge figures while
fighting the elections.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), the
permissible amount for the poll expenditure in Hary-
ana for a candidate is 28 lakhs, which includes public
meetings, banners, posters, rallies, vehicles, expense
on campaign workers, advertisements in print and
electronic media.
According to the ECI, all parties should adhere to
the maximum expenditure limit and mandate all
payments made above 20,000 through the account
payee cheque. As per the law, the candidates need
to submit their expense details within 30 days after
the election results are announced, which includes
details of funds received from various sources and
also the campaign expenses. If any candidate found
not adhering to the law, he or she will be disqualified
from being a legislator and also barred from being
chosen as a member of the assembly.
It is here where the catch lies. Karnal-based sen-
ior advocate Y.K Kalia told Tehelka that “while there
are law enforcing authorities to check poll expenses,
there are equally strong and notorious mafias that
teach candidates how to hide expenses and show
expenses within the permissible limits. This includes
poll strategists, financial management experts and
social media operators, who spend money for a can-
didate’s promotion and show the expenses as spent
by supporters.”
A Panchkula-based business man Dhiraj Dev
questioned the overall process and the restrictions
imposed by the EC on the permissible amount. He
said, “Everyone including the election commission
knows that the elections are not being fought in the
said amount, still almost every candidate is able to get Now the question arises, are candidates following
a clean chit from the EC. Everyone knows the types the law and sticking to the permissible amount or is
of unfair practises being used in the elections and the there more than what meets the eye?
distribution of cash via various means but still every We all know that in order to win elections every
candidate comes out clean.” candidate spends maximum to influence the voters.
A Kurukshetra-based farmer on anonymity told On an average, a candidate spends amounts ranging
Tehelka, “Coordinators of various parties visit fre- between 1 to 3 crores depending on the constituency.
quently our and nearby villages and offer lots of good- However, expenditure in many urban constituencies
ies and cash to the villagers. Many poor people who can go up to 5 crores and may be more depending on
are in need of money agree to vote for them on the the spending power of a candidate. When supporters
pretext of the promised amount and other things.” of different parties were asked about the poll expendi-

tehelka / 31 october 2019 10 www.tehelka.com