ECI prescribes maximum limit on election expenses of each contesting candidate

ECI prescribes maximum limit on election expenses of each contesting candidate. It is ₹95 lakh for Lok Sabha constituency ₹40 lakh for Assembly constituency. The election commission will monitor the expenditure of each and every candidate across the State, says Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has prescribed the expenditure limit as ₹95 lakh for each Lok Sabha candidate and ₹40 lakh for each Assembly candidate in Andhra Pradesh for the ensuing general elections.

The expenditure will be calculated from the nomination of each candidate until the election procedure completes.

The expenditure includes the spend for public meetings, rallies, advertisements, hoardings, pamphlets, flexis, campaign material and all other election-related work.

“The election commission will monitor the expenditure of each and every candidate across the State,” Mukesh Kumar Meena, Chief Electoral Officer of Andhra Pradesh, told The Hindu on March 9 (Saturday).

Mr. Meena said that they had already informed about these rules and regulations to all the political parties at State level. The District Election Officers (District Collectors) were also creating awareness about the rules among the political leaders in their respective districts.

Mr. Meena said the candidates should maintain their accounts books separately for the election expenditure, and they should use only one bank account for all the election-related transactions.

“When the election code is in force, the contesting candidates, agents, party cadre should not carry more than ₹50,000 in cash and ₹10,000 worth of material in their vehicles. If they exceed this limit, the cash and material will be seized by the election authorities,” he said.