Rising election costs in India making democracy money-driven

Context: Rising election costs in India

Rising election expenditure is making India’s electoral process increasingly money-driven, affecting fairness and equal competition.

Spending Reality

• Legal limit: ~₹95 lakh per parliamentary candidate
• Actual: ₹50–100 crore (estimates) → large unaccounted spending

Legal Framework

Representation of the People Act, 1951
• Section 77 → maintenance of election expenses
• Section 10A → disqualification for wrong accounts

Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961
• Rule 90 → fixes expenditure limits
• Election Commission of India → revises limits
• Gap: No cap on political party expenditure

Core Issues

• Low limits → black money usage
• Weak monitoring → spending before campaign unchecked
• Money becoming entry barrier (majority legislators wealthy)

Solutions

• Cap political party expenditure
• Ensure full transparency in funding sources
• Strengthen real-time monitoring by Election Commission
• Consider partial state funding of elections

Rising election costs in India
Rising election costs in India
PYQ – 2017, Ans – C

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