The poll expenditure monitoring mechanism being put in place by the Election Commission of India for the candidates who would be in the poll fray in Chhattisgarh is expected to provide some idea regarding the personal net worth of individuals across constituencies.
Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath during his visit to Raipur for reviewing the poll preparations in Chhattisgarh had already announced in a news conference in the last week of August that the candidates would have to follow a complex process of poll expenditure accounting procedure set by the Commission for ensuring free and fair polls in the State. As a result, collectors who are also district electoral officers in all the 27 districts of the State have started communicating the EC guidelines on poll expenditure to be made by candidates in advance in their respective regions to the political parties in advance.
The EC guildelines on poll expenditure management says that the candidates would have to open a separate bank account for the purpose . The candidates have also been offered the choice of opening a joint account with their polling agent if so desired. The candidate will not be able to open any new bank account in the name of their family members for use in making poll expenditure.
If a member of a candidate’s family wants to become the polling agent, he or she would have to submit sufficient documents to be eligible for opening a bank account with him. All the candidates after their nominations had been filed need to have a new bank account to make poll expenditure. On the other hand, all banks in Chhattisgarh had been directed by the respective district collectors that all cash movement from one place to another would have to be communicated by the banks to the District Electoral Officer ( District Collector) with details on registration of the vehicle carrying the cash and the amount of money being transferred.
The district collectors had also directed the flying squads to seize any cash amounting to Rs 50,000 found with anybody during the campaign period besides any item exceeding value of Rs 10,000 . It had also been notified that all poll expenditure to be made by the candidates would have to be done solely through the bank accounts opened by them for the purpose.
The banks had also been asked to be alert on sudden high value transactions from the bank accounts of the candidates.