CHENNAI: The scrutiny of election expenditure statements filed by candidates who contested the recent Assembly election has begun, with the Election Commission of India warning that candidates who fail to submit their accounts by June 3 could face disqualification from contesting future elections for up to three years.
Officials said expenditure observers appointed by the Commission are currently evaluating the returns submitted by candidates. The observers are drawn from various Union government services and have been tasked with verifying expenditure declarations and supporting documents.
In the Assembly election, the Election Commission had fixed the expenditure ceiling at Rs 40 lakh per candidate, while the spending limit for Lok Sabha elections stands at Rs 90 lakh.
According to election officials, a total of 4,023 candidates, including nominees of recognised political parties and independents, contested the election across 234 Assembly constituencies. Of them, 3,579 were men and 443 were women and nearly half of the contestants were independent candidates. So far, around 1,000 candidates have submitted their expenditure statements for scrutiny.
Officials clarified that expenditure accounts will not be accepted after June 3. Candidates who fail to submit their statements within the stipulated period may receive notices from the Election Commission seeking an explanation for the delay.
The poll panel will examine the response and decide whether the reasons are satisfactory. If the explanation is rejected, the candidate may be disqualified from contesting elections for up to three years under the election law.
Election authorities have advised all candidates to file their expenditure accounts within the deadline to avoid legal action and possible disqualification from future electoral contests.