ADR: ‘Nearly half of Delhi MLAs underutilise poll spending limit’
NEW DELHI: Of the 69 Delhi MLAs whose records were analysed, 31 (45 per cent) have declared election expenses amounting to less than 50 per cent of the permissible limit in their respective constituencies, according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The ADR said the average amount of money spent by the MLAs in the Assembly polls held in February is Rs 20.79 lakh, which is 52 per cent of the expense limit.
“The party wise average election expenses shows that the average spending for 47 MLAs from BJP is Rs 24.68 lakh (61.7 per cent of the expense limit) and for 22 MLAs from AAP, it is Rs 12.48 lakh (31.2 per cent of the expense limit),” the report said.
It also highlighted that the top three highest-spending MLAs were all from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Anil Kumar Sharma from R K Puram reported the highest expenditure at Rs 31.91 lakh (80 per cent of the limit), followed closely by Parduyumn Singh Rajput from Dwarka at Rs 31.44 lakh (79 per cent) and Ashish Sood from Janakpuri at Rs 30.68 lakh (77 per cent).
The most frugal candidates were all from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Aaley Mohammed Iqbal from Matia Mahal spent only Rs 4.53 lakh (11 per cent), Veer Singh Dhingan from Seema Puri spent Rs 6.5 lakh (16 per cent) and Virender Singh Kadian from Delhi Cantonment spent Rs 6.54 lakh (16 per cent), the ADR said. In terms of how the campaign funds were spent, 88 of the MLAs reported expenses on vehicles, making it the most common category. Public meetings and rallies with star campaigners were the next most significant category, with 72 per cent of the legislators incurring such expenses.
Sixty-five per cent of Delhi MLAs declared spending on electronic or print media, 67 per cent on campaign workers, and 61 per cent on materials like banners. Only 1 per cent reported virtual campaign spending. Most funds came from parties (75 per cent), with 11 per cent from personal resources. Of 31 MLAs with criminal cases, 94 per cent published mandatory
declarations, ADR said.
