New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is poised to unveil the timetable of the high-stakes Lok Sabha Elections 2024 this coming Saturday.
India, hailed by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ‘Cradle of Democracy’, stands not only as the largest democracy but also ranks among the nations with the highest electoral expenditures.
Various analyses and studies have asserted that India’s electoral processes rank among the most financially intensive globally. While campaign expenditures fall within the purview of political parties and their respective nominees, another aspect pertains to the financial provision by the Union Government to the Election Commission.
The provision for electoral expenses has escalated from Rs 2,183.78 crore in 2023 to Rs 2,442.85 crore in the provisional budget 2024 tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month.
Of this amount, Rs 1000 crore will be earmarked for Lok Sabha elections, a notable increase from the Rs 180 crore allotted the previous year. Likewise, the allocation for voter identity cards, which stood at a mere Rs 18 crore last year, has surged to Rs 404.81 crore this year. The revised budget for voter ID cards in 2023–24 amounted to Rs 79.66 crore.
For Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the budgetary allocation stands at Rs 34.84 crore. A total of Rs 1,003.20 crore has been allocated under other election-related expenses. As for the total allocation for conducting elections for the upcoming fiscal year, it amounts to Rs 2,408.01 crore.
Additionally, the Election Commission has been allocated Rs 321.89 crore for conducting elections this fiscal year, of which Rs 306.06 crore is designated for the expenses incurred in conducting elections.
The allocation for public infrastructure stands at Rs 2.01 crore. Meanwhile, the allocation for administrative services amounts to Rs 13.82 crore. It is noteworthy that during the winter session of Parliament last year, the Finance Minister presented an additional allocation of Rs 3,147.92 crore for election-related expenses and Rs 73.67 crore for the administration of the Election Commission.
In the preceding year, the Election Commission was allocated Rs 466.4 crore. Moreover, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, an exorbitant sum of Rs 3,870 crore was expended.