The burgeoning expenditure of elections | Explained Premium

Election expenditure trends worldwide, including India, US, and UK, and the need for reforms to curb corruption.

The story so far:

The total expenditure for U.S. presidential and Congressional elections in November 2024 is estimated at around U.S. $16 billion (equivalent to ₹1,36,000 crores). According to the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), the total expenditure by various political parties for the general election to Lok Sabha this year was around ₹1,00,000 crores.

The election expenditure limit for candidates is ₹95 lakh per Lok Sabha constituency in larger States and ₹75 lakh in smaller States. With respect to Legislative Assemblies, they are ₹40 lakh and ₹28 lakh for larger and smaller States respectively. These limits are set, from time to time, by the Election Commission (EC). There are no limits on the expenditure of political parties during elections.

In the U.S., the financing for elections happens primarily by contributions from individuals, corporations, and political action committees (PAC). While there are limits on individual and PAC contributions to candidates, various judgments of the U.S. Supreme Court have resulted in the creation of Super PACs on which there are no limits for spending. Out of the estimated expenditure in the November 2024 election cycle, around $5.5 billion is estimated to be spent on the presidential election. The balance is around $10.5 billion on elections to the House of Representatives and Senate of the U.S. Congress. This humungous raise is due to large donations by organisational donors and Super PACs.

In the U.K., a political party is allowed to spend £54,010 for each constituency they contest. This translates to a limit of £35 million for parties contesting all constituencies. There are also limits placed on candidates’ spending during the campaign period. It translates, per constituency, to an average of £46-49,000 during the long campaign period (beginning five months before the full term of the House of Commons ends) and £17-20,000 during the short campaign period after elections are announced.

Elections across the world democracies have become very expensive. Such increased expenditure that is met primarily through large donations creates an unholy nexus between the elected representatives and donors who seek favours. This acts as an entry barrier into electoral politics for many well-meaning citizens.

In India, candidates from all major political parties breach the election expenditure limits by a wide margin. Further, there are no limits on political party spending during elections. The official expenditures declared by the BJP and Congress for the 2019 election were ₹1,264 crores and ₹820 crores, respectively. However, according to a report by the CMS, ₹50,000 crore was spent by various parties during the 2019 election.