Context
- Rising election expenditure has raised concerns about money power influencing democratic competition in India. With nearly 93% MPs being crorepatis, questions emerge on equitable access to political power.
Escalating Cost of Elections: Structural Reality
- Official spending limit for Lok Sabha candidates is ₹95 lakh, but actual spending reaches ₹50 to 100 crore in many constituencies.
- Large portions of expenditure remain unaccounted and unaudited, indicating widespread use of black money.
- There is no cap on party expenditure, creating imbalance between regulated candidates and unregulated parties.
- Election Commission monitoring remains limited due to short observation window and scale constraints.
Impact on Democratic Competition
- Money has become a necessary condition for contesting effectively, though not sufficient for victory.
- Smaller parties and independents are pushed to margins due to resource asymmetry.
- The first-past-the-post system intensifies competition, encouraging high spending for marginal gains.
- Electoral competition tends to consolidate around few dominant parties, limiting diversity.
Limits of Existing Regulatory Framework
- Spending limits are often unrealistic, incentivising underreporting and black money usage.
- Imposing stricter caps may push expenditure further underground rather than eliminating it.
- Electoral bond scheme failed to ensure transparency and accountability, leading to its judicial invalidation.
- Corporate funding raises concerns of policy capture despite lack of electoral accountability.
Reform Debate: Key Policy Choices
- Increasing expenditure limits may enable greater use of legitimate funds, but risks favouring resource-rich candidates.
- Removing limits and focusing on full transparency and disclosure is suggested as an alternative.
- Cap on party expenditure (as in UK) could help create a more level playing field.
- Electoral system reforms like proportional representation may enhance inclusivity of smaller parties.
Way Forward
- Strengthen transparency mechanisms to ensure real-time disclosure of funding sources and expenditure.
- Introduce regulations on party spending to address structural imbalance in electoral finance.
- Ban government-funded advertisements before elections to ensure fair competition.
- Re-evaluate corporate funding norms to enhance democratic accountability.
- Address deeper behavioural and systemic factors to ensure a more participatory and equitable democracy.
Conclusion
- While money has become integral to electoral competition, its growing dominance risks distorting democratic equality. The focus must shift towards transparency, fairness, and institutional reforms to preserve the integrity of India’s democracy. Ultimately, strengthening democracy requires balancing financial realities with inclusive political participation.
