The poll watchdog is closely monitoring the rates of chai, pakora, even chole-kulche, and how much is spent on garlands and drones while campaigning in the assembly polls in the national capital. The Election Commission of India has specified rates such as Rs 35 for a plate of poori-sabzi, Rs 30 for kulche-chole, Rs 19 for a plate of pakoras, Rs 12 for a samosa or bread pakora, Rs 6 for a cup of tea, Rs 12 for a cup of coffee, Rs 20 for a sandwich, Rs 15 for a kachori, Rs 19 for a one-litre water bottle, and Rs 70 for lunch or dinner.
According to the rates chart approved by the EC, the rate for the use of drones is fixed at Rs 7,000 per day. A small garland cannot exceed Rs 20, while 10-foot garlands cannot cost more than Rs 1,500. Flowers used for stage decorations are priced at Rs 35 per square foot. A candidate can hire a horse at Rs 3,075 per day and an elephant at Rs 6,150 per day.
Candidates need to get the poll panel’s approval to hire animals for campaigning. The daily wage rate ranges from Rs 692 for unskilled workers to Rs 913 for graduates and above. The EC has also set rates for accommodations in hotels and for vehicles. The rates for vehicles like Tata Sumo, Toyota Innova, and Mahindra Scorpio, among others, are Rs 2,421 per day per vehicle. For a normal car, the limit is Rs 1,499 per day. The maximum cost for a two-wheeler is Rs 84 per day.
The rate list also specifies the maximum expenditure limit for tents, chairs, tables, podiums, and generators. For gatherings of up to 2,000 people, for example, the maximum rate, including all related expenses, is set at Rs 30,000 per event. For smaller gatherings of fewer than 250 people, the staging rate is Rs 6,150. A broom, the party symbol of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), used for maintaining party offices, event venues, or during campaigning, cannot cost more than Rs 25 each. There are also price limits for flags, posters, handbills, hoardings, cut-outs, and stickers. Pens used in party election offices cannot exceed Rs 6 each. Among the musical instruments used at campaign events, drums are priced at Rs 500 per day.
According to officials, each returning officer prepares the rate list of services and materials used by the candidates. Officials said the itemized rate list is finalized by a committee, which includes the electoral officer, in consultation with political parties, candidates, and traders, and is handed over to each person filing nomination papers. Though in a city like Delhi, which has 70 assembly constituencies with an average of 22-25 lakh voters each in an area of 1,483 square kilometers, the prices of most commodities are more or less the same but may vary occasionally.
Candidates are required to submit their expenditure report to the poll panel within 30 days of the completion of an election. The expenses are also monitored by the commission through video recording during the campaign.
The accounting of expenses is done from the date candidates file their nomination papers until the day of the results. In the event of a violation or incorrect claims, the candidacy of the person is canceled as per Election Commission rules. As a norm, the poll panel tracks candidates’ expenses item-wise during election campaigns. The rates are fixed based on feedback from district election officials, market dealers, political parties, and the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI).
“We take the itemized list from the previous election and calculate the new prices using the consumer price index. The list cannot be exhaustive, and the rates of various miscellaneous items, which are not mentioned in it, are accounted for as per the bill, the maximum retail price mentioned on it, or the fair market price, whichever is higher,” said an election official.
While the candidates maintain their own expense registers, expenditure observers, appointed by the EC, prepare a “shadow” register, and both are required to be updated regularly. Sometimes, there is an informal arrangement where the candidate compares their daily register with the expenditure observers’ shadow register and corrects any anomalies. Overall, the EC’s maximum limit on election expenditure for assembly seats for each candidate is Rs 40 lakh. For Lok Sabha elections, the limit is Rs 95 lakh. The expenditure limit has increased over the years. In 2019, the limit was Rs 70 lakh per candidate for the Lok Sabha election and Rs 28 lakh per candidate for assembly elections. As many as 699 candidates have filed nominations for the 70 seats of the Delhi Assembly. The results will be announced on February 8.
