Source: 
The New Indian Express
Date: 
03.08.2014
City: 
New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Despite the hike in the expenditure limits for the Lok Sabha elections, MPs continue to declare significantly lower election expenditure than the expense limit. This was revealed by the analysis of election expense statements submitted to the Election Commission after the Lok Sabha elections of 2014 for 537 MPs done by the National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The expenditure limits for Lok Sabha elections were raised this year from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 70 lakh for each constituency in bigger states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka, and from Rs 22 lakh to Rs 54 lakh in smaller states such as Goa.

Gourav Gogoi of the Congress, Assam, declared an election expenditure of Rs 82.40 lakh (118 pc of the expense limit). He was followed by Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava of the BJP from Gujarat, with an expense of Rs 67.31 lakh (96 pc of the expense limit) and Saugata Roy of the TMC from West Bengal, with an expense of Rs 65.53 lakh ( 94 percent of the expense limit).

Based on the election expense declarations of 537 MPs analysed from Lok Sabha, 2014 to the ECI, 176 MPs (33 per cent) have declared election expenses of less than 50 per cent of the expense limit in their constituency.

 

Top three Ministers: The maximum expense of about Rs 67.31 lakh (96 per cent of the expense limit) has been declared by Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava of the BJP from Bharuch constituency, Gujarat, followed by Uma Bharti of the BJP from Jhansi constituency, Uttar Pradesh, with an expense of Rs 59.64 lakh (or 85 per cent of the expense limit) and D V Sadananda Gowda of the BJP from Bangalore North constituency, Karnataka, with an expense of Rs 59.35 lakh (or 85 per cent of the expense limit).

Ministers with lowest Election Expenses: Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati of the TDP is followed by Kiren Rijiju of the BJP from Arunachal West constituency, who has declared election expenditure of Rs 13.70 lakh (25 per cent of the expense limit), Rajnath Singh of the BJP from Lucknow constituency, with election expenses of Rs 17.76 lakh (25 per cent of the expense limit) and Jitendra Singh of the BJP from Udhampur constituency, Jammu and Kashmir, with election expenses of Rs 21.97 lakh (31 per cent of the expense limit).

Shrikant Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena from Kalyan constituency, Maharashtra, declared total assets of Rs 9.98 lakh during the elections. However, he has declared election expenses of Rs 51.34 lakh (Rs 41.36 lakh more than his total assets).

Similarly, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa of the BJP from Jorhat constituency, Assam, declared a total assets of `16.94 lakh during the elections but spent Rs 58.21 lakh on polls.

© Association for Democratic Reforms
Privacy And Terms Of Use
Donation Payment Method