EC pegs cost of conducting Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka at an estimated ₹520 crore 

Bengaluru's election expenses: 2023 Assembly polls cost ₹511 crore, 2019 Lok Sabha polls cost ₹413 crore.

It will cost an average of over ₹18.5 crore to elect an MP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, as per the Election Commission’s (EC) estimation of expenses for conducting the polls. According to the EC’s estimation, the overall expenses are likely to be around ₹520 crore for conducting the Lok Sabha elections in 28 Parliamentary constituencies this time.

Official sources said the State’s Finance Department has already approved around ₹400 crore and the remaining will be released based on the actual costs. 

During last year’s Assembly polls, the EC had spent ₹511 crore, an average of ₹2.2 crore to elect an MLA. Sources said the expenses are likely to be around ₹7 to ₹8 crore more than the Assembly polls. “As the Assembly polls were held just a year ago, there will not be a huge difference in the cost,” sources said.

During the previous Assembly election in 2018, the EC had incurred expenses of around ₹394 crore, an average of ₹1.75 crore each constituency. In 2013, the expenditure was around ₹160 crore at an average of ₹65 lakh per constituency.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the EC had spent around ₹413 crore at around ₹14.75 crore per parliamentary constituency. This was a steep increase from the previous election in 2014 when the expenditure was ₹320.16 crore at over ₹11 crore per parliamentary constituency. With price rise and inflation, the cost of poll machinery and infrastructure had seen a steep rise then, officials said.

A major chunk of the budget will be spent on remuneration and training of polling personnel (around three lakh to be deployed) and election observers, transport arrangements (including arranging vehicles for voters with disabilities), preparation of electoral rolls and polling stations, and conducting voter awareness campaigns. “A major component of our expenses is towards hiring of vehicles including KSRTC buses (around 40 buses per constituency) and videography on the polling day,  printing of voter slips and voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips and EPIC cards,” an official said.