Simultaneous polls cheaper, finds Election Commission

State Assembly Election expenditure came to Rs 285 crore, while considering the means and ways to remove the redundant expenditure during the polls, the projection had been arrived by the sources from the Election Commission. 

On average, the EC had spent as much as Rs 1.2 crore for each of 234 Assembly segments. It has spent as much as Rs 192.03 crore towards the conduct of Lok Sabha polls to all 39 seats in the state in 2014. This works out to nearly Rs 5 crore being spent for each of the Parliamentary segment towards the conduct of the election. 

“As per our typical estimate, the spending would be anywhere between Rs 300 and Rs 325 crore. We expect a minimum accretion of 10 per cent to the Assembly Poll expense 2016 for a coterminous Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections,” the source said. 

The source was quick to add that it was only a projection which they have arrived at and departure from the projection could not be overruled. The spend difference of about Rs 100 crore is witnessed between the Lok Sabha polls and the Assembly polls in 2014 and 2016. 

The EC officials reasoned that the increase should be attributed to the increase in the number of Central Armed Police Force companies deployed. While we deployed 100 companies for LS Polls, the number during the Assembly polls stood at 300. On the highest spending of Rs 3.02 crore in the recently concluded RK Nagar bypoll, the Official pointed out that the expenditure incurred overshot in the similar lines of increased deployment of CAPF companies and observers. 

This comprises telephone charges, refreshment charges, expense of observers, booth arrangement charges, remuneration to polling and counting personnel, web streaming and wheel chair arrangement at a total cost of Rs 1.92 crore. 

The other two - videography, SVEEP activities and printing charges and expense for materials, remuneration to BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals) and other contingency bill worked out to Rs 70 and 40 lakh respectively.