In what can be dubbed as queer by some politicians, the election commission would count the expenditure of a candidate since the time he is canvassing for ticket prior to his final nomination. While disclosing this, state chief electoral officer Radha Raturi said on Wednesday that the expenditure limit of the candidate has been pegged at Rs 28 lakh for each Assembly constituency.
Talking about the functioning of Expenditure Monitoring Committees (EMCs), the CEO said that these would start assessing the expenditure of the candidates from Thursday. “For instance, the expenses being incurred by a person who is canvassing for ticket would be added to his account in case he finally gets the party ticket to contest the polls. This means that the ticket aspirants must exercise austerity prior to being provided with the ticket,” she said.
Earlier, the practice was that EMCs would be active after the last date of the nomination. This means that the candidates used to get time to spend while pitching for tickets till the announcement of the results. But this time, EMC has turned active instantly after the implementation of model code of conduct.
The ticket hopefuls from across the political spectrum have been left worried by the decision of the Election Commission. “Given the constraints imposed on us, it has become extremely trying for us. Once under the lens of the EMCs, we can hardly spend. However, a bit of spending is imperative to keep our followers in the field to canvass on my behalf for tickets,” said a ticket aspirant, insisting on anonymity.
Raturi further said that the gunners deployed for the security of politicians might be withdrawn after scrutiny in case it is found that the politicians concerned are not facing any life threat. “We are cautious as some politicians use the gunners to flaunt their importance. We are for providing a level playing field for all the candidates in the reckoning of the electoral contest,” she affirmed.