Aspirant Academy

Polity, Governance and Current Affairs

Electoral Expenses and Anti-Corruption Measures

Voting Behavior, Electoral Reforms, Elections

Paper III · Unit 1 Section 6 of 11 0 PYQs 28 min
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Electoral Expenses and Anti-Corruption Measures

5.1 Expenditure Limits

Current limits (ECI notification, January 2022):

  • Lok Sabha constituency: ₹95 lakh per candidate (general states); ₹75 lakh (smaller states/UTs)
  • State Assembly constituency: ₹40 lakh (general states); ₹28 lakh (smaller states/UTs)

Problems with limits:

  • Actual spending vastly exceeds declared spending — candidate surveys estimate actual LS spending of ₹5–50 crore per candidate
  • Expenditure limits apply to candidates, not parties — party spending on national media campaigns and leader travel is uncapped
  • Cash distribution, free goods, and services are common forms of voter inducement

Expenditure monitoring:

  • ECI deploys Flying Squads and Static Surveillance Teams in all constituencies
  • Income Tax Department conducts seizures — in 2024 LS elections, ₹4,650 crore of cash, liquor, drugs, and goods seized
  • Expenditure observers monitor and cross-check candidate accounts against actual spending

5.2 Paid News and Advertising

Paid news refers to media outlets publishing political content as "news" (not advertisements) after payment from candidates — without disclosure. ECI identified 2,100+ cases of paid news in 2014 elections.

Pre-certification requirement: Since 2014, all political advertisements in print and electronic media must be pre-certified by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) at district and state levels. This prevents last-minute unverified advertisements.

Social media oversight: ECI has a Social Media Cell that monitors political content; parties must submit pre-certification for digital advertisements.

5.3 Decriminalisation of Politics

Criminal candidates — 2024 LS data:

  • 251 out of 543 elected MPs (46%) had declared criminal cases in their affidavits
  • 187 (34%) had serious criminal cases (murder, rape, kidnapping, etc.)

Constitutional position: The SC in Lily Thomas v. UoI (2013) struck down Section 8(4) of RPA 1951, which had allowed convicted legislators to continue until appeal — now, conviction immediately leads to disqualification.

Reforms proposed:

  • Law Commission Report 244 (2014): Lifetime ban for those convicted of certain offences; fast-track courts for election offences
  • *SC in Public Interest Foundation v. UoI (2018):* Directed mandatory disclosure of criminal antecedents in newspapers; compulsory party website posting
  • *SC in Brajesh Singh v. Sunil Arora (2020):* Parties must explain reasons for giving tickets to candidates with criminal cases