Election Commission rate list on poll expenses in sync with reality

NEW DELHI: Ever wondered how the Election Commission (EC) assesses the "true" expenditure on a candidate's campaign to judge any violations of the individual poll expense limit set for each state? The answer lies in a rate list notified by the state/district election authorities ahead of each assembly election, fixing the exact amount a candidate must be billed for each cup of tea offered, vehicle hired, stage erected or cut out mounted in h/his constituency.

The EC rate list is realistic, and takes into account the average cost of items used in poll campaigns, in local markets. For instance, a meal is valued at Rs 65 in the rate list notified for Delhi's north-west district — a far more pragmatic assessment than the Congress that once famously claimed that a meal could be bought for Rs 12, or even the Planning Commission that says a person is not "poor" if s/he spends over Rs 32 a day in urban areas.

Adopting a scientific approach to assess the poll expenditure by a candidate, the state chief electoral officer and district election officers, in consultation with political parties, candidates and traders, finalize the itemized rate card to help the expenditure observers keep a "shadow register" of the candidates' expenses. So, in Delhi, the cost of hiring a chair and table is to be taken as Rs 10 and Rs 25 each, that of a public address system as Rs 1,000-6,000, construction of podium/pandal at Rs 2.50 per square metre, and erection of gates and arches at Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively.

A copy of the Delhi rate list for north-west district puts the cost of each plastic flag at 60 paisa and that of a cloth flag at Rs 25, hoardings at Rs 10 per sq ft and cut outs at Rs 125-375 per sq feet. Similarly, daily hiring charges of campaign vehicles are fixed at Rs 1,950 for a jeep/tempo/truck; Rs 1,100 for three-wheelers; Rs 500 for a cycle-rickshaw; and Rs 50 for a motorbike. A driver's salary is assessed at Rs 7,500 per month, and hiring of hotel room at Rs 1,600 or actual charge, whichever is higher.

The cost of a lunch — comprising two curries, dal, rice, chapati and glass of packaged drinking water, complete with a sweet and achar — is fixed at Rs 65; while the candidate must be billed Rs 5 for providing each cup of tea/coffee or a snack like stuffed bread pakora or samosa.

Hiring of a troupe to stage a street play should cost the candidate Rs 2,000.

This "rate card" varies from state to state, and, sometimes, even from one district to another. For example, the same items are valued differently in Delhi and Chhattisgarh. In Chhattisgarh, hiring a chair should set a candidate back by Rs 4-25; vehicles by Rs 700-1,000 per day; and cutouts by Rs 5.25 per feet (plastic) and Rs 30 per metre (cloth). Tea and snacks are priced similarly in the two states; though, interestingly, there is provision for a half cup of tea at Rs 2.50 in Chhattisgarh.

"The standardized list helps the candidates and EC prepare their respective registers uniformly. In fact, there is an informal arrangement wherein the candidate can compare his daily register with the expenditure observers' shadow register and correct any anomalies," a senior EC official told TOI.