With the 2019 Lok Sabha elections less than a month away, G Plus takes a look at the expenditure of MPs in the last Lok Sabha elections.
As per the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report on the expenditure of Members of Parliament (MPs) in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Assam state’s average election expense, was Rs 44.23 lakhs making Assam the eleventh highest spending state.
The expenditure limits for Lok Sabha elections were raised in 2014 from Rs 40 lakhs to Rs 70 lakhs for each Lok Sabha constituency in bigger states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka; and from Rs 22 lakh to Rs 54 Lakhs in smaller states like Goa. Assam falls in the category of bigger states and the election expenditure limit per constituency this is Rs 70 lakhs. This revision of election expenditure limits came after sustained efforts by the candidates contesting elections.
However, Gaurav Gogoi of Indian National Congress from Kaliabor Constituency, declared an election expenditure of Rs 82.40 lakhs which was the highest in India by any contesting candidate from a political party.
Out of the total expenditure incurred by Gaurav Gogoi in 2014 elections, he spent Rs 36.05 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars while Rs 14.98 lakhs was spent on public meetings and processions with stars. Further, he declared a spending of a whopping Rs 31 lakhs on vehicles used for the elections.
Similarly, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, BJP MP from Jorhat, spent Rs 7.16 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars. Additionally, he incurred an expense of Rs 1.85 lakhs on public meetings and processions with stars. Teli further declared Rs 24.60 lakhs on campaign materials and used Rs 5 lakhs on vehicles. He also spent Rs 1 lakh on campaign workers and more than Rs 18 lakhs on other miscellaneous expenses.
Further, there were a few MPs who had declared election expenditure incurred by them which was more than their total assets declared during the elections. Kamakhya Prasad Tasa of BJP from Jorhat constituency, Assam, declared total assets of Rs 16.94 lakhs during the elections. However, he has declared election expenses of Rs 58.21 lakhs which was Rs 41.26 lakhs more than his total declared assets.
Moreover, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal who contested the elections form Lakhimpur declared an expense of Rs 7 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars while he spent Rs 8 lakhs on public meetings and processions with stars. Sonowal declared Rs 27 lakhs as expense on campaign material. He further spent Rs 6 lakhs on vehicles used and Rs 3 lakhs as expense on campaign workers.
In the same vein, Rajen Gohain, BJP MP from Nowgong spent Rs 12 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars. Additionally, he incurred an expense of Rs 17 lakhs on public meetings and processions with stars. Gohain further declared an expense of Rs 3.60 lakhs on campaign materials and used Rs 7 lakhs on vehicles used. He also spent Rs 9 lakh on campaign workers.
Further, Gauhati MP Bijoya Chakraborty incurred an expense of Rs 15 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars. She further spent Rs 22 lakhs on campaigning through electronic and print media. She also spent Rs 6 lakhs on vehicles used and Rs 4 lakhs on campaign workers.
On the other hand, Badruddin Ajmal MP from Dhubri from AIUDF declared expenditure of Rs 31 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars and spent Rs 4 lakhs on campaign materials. He also spent Rs 4 lakhs on vehicles used and Rs 7 lakhs on campaign workers.
Similarly, Ramen Deka BJP MP from Mangaldoi declared Rs 4 lakhs as expenditure on public meetings and processions without stars. He spent an equal amount on public meetings and processions with stars. He further spent Rs 1 lakh on campaign materials and Rs 32,000 on campaigning through electronic and print media. He also spent Rs 2 lakhs each on vehicles and campaign workers. Deka declared an expenditure of Rs 2 lakhs as other miscellaneous expenses during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Sidelights of the 2014 elections:
According to the data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, a total of Rs 299 crores worth of cash was seized across the country during the Lok Sabha 2014 elections and 16 states had reported to have seized more than Rs 1 crore.
Apart from that, 1.61 crore litres of liquor, 1,707 crore mg of drugs and 57,335 illegal arms and ammunitions were seized across the country. There were a total of 8,04,433 model code of conduct violations and 4,26,077 notices were issued by the Election Commission of India across the country.
