By- Gautam Choudhary
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has raised the expenditure restrictions for candidates running in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections in five states ahead of the elections. For the Lok Sabha elections, the election commission has increased the poll expenditure limitation to $95 lakh. Previously, a candidate may spend up to Rs. 70 lakh. The expenditure limit for state assembly elections has been increased from 28 lakh to 40 lakh.
The increase in the cost inflation index and the size of the voters, according to the Election Commission of India, prompted the revision in the expenditure. Candidates running in the next elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur will be subject to the new spending limits. The last major change to the election expenditure limit for candidates occurred in 2014, and the limit was increased by 10% in 2020, according to the ECI.
The latest expenditure revision for larger states for the Lok Sabha elections has been raised by 35%, from 70 lakh to 90 lakh. The revised expenditure limitation for minor states, on the other hand, has increased by 38%, from 54 lakh to 65 lakh. The new poll expenditure limit for candidates in state assembly elections would now be 40 lakh for major states, up 42 percent from 28 lakh. Candidates in smaller states, on the other hand, will be entitled to spend a maximum of 28 lakh, which is 40% more than the previous limitation of 20 lakh.
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