[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Election Commission of India (ECI) has passed on information that candidates can spend up to Rs eight lakhs each to meet poll-related expenditure for the forthcoming general elections to the Mizoram Legislative Assembly slated for sometime in November or December this year.The ECI would appoint expenditure observers in addition to general and security observers to scrutinize the expenses of all candidates and political parties during the elections. It has also issued special guidelines to all poll-related officials including Sub-Division officers and district magistrates to record the expenses in this connection.
The churches of different Christian denominations always used to supervise the elections in Mizoram on their own in an attempt to prevent malpractices during the polls.
Not only Mizoram but four other States, namely, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh will also go to polls simultaneously with the 40 Member Mizoram which is congress-ruled. The ruling UPA government is depending on its key States to win the elections as precursor to the general elections to the Lok Sabha in 2014.
The question here arises as to whether or not the ECI has the same guidelines for the other four States. Assuming that it has done so, what were the criteria that made the ECI come up with such a fixed amount for the polls? And why does it have to insist that Rs 8 lakhs would suffice for a candidate to spend on his election. The ECI knows very well that the amount that it has specified is fine in theory but has it knowingly, or blindly, come up with this so-called magic figure? Is it not aware that poll-related expenses vary from State to State, or to be more precise, from land to land based on the history and culture of the electorate concerned?
For instance, in the larger and more populous States, a Member of Parliament represents ten lakh people while an MLA represents one lakh people. The approved sum of Rs eight lakhs for the populous States in understandable because the candidates cannot physically tour all over during their campaigns. They rather tend to go for posters, banners, post cards and the like to woo the electorate.
On the other hand, a smaller State like Mizoram which has only a 40-Member Legislative Assembly, the number of their voters per constituency is correspondingly much lesser, and politics of elections are played differently. Accordingly, the expenses skyrocket in proportion and hence in ratio.
For instance, perhaps Mokokchung Town remains the Assembly Constituency with the least number of voters. It became an Assembly Constituency with only 2800 voters when the Chozuba II Legislator signed it away during the rule of Naga Nationalist Organization (NNO)—the precursor to the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee. Now, the number of voters has increased since the last three decades, but still remains the smallest of the constituencies.
Therefore, instead of campaigning for higher ideals, candidates tend to convince the voters through various incentives, financial or otherwise. From this it follows that more funds have to be spent to woo the voters and the overall expenditure practically skyrocket far above what the ECI notifies.
Is the ECI indulging in semantics like most official bodies of the government whether in the Centre or even in the States? No matter what, expenses flow above the Rs 8 lakh ceiling and the law has enough loopholes, for candidates to manipulate the book of accounts.
Will the ECI learn to be more practical and call a spade a spade?
