There should be a ceiling on expenditure by political parties during polls, similar to the provision for individual candidates, according to a recommendation by a working group set up by the Election Commission.
Last year, the poll panel had established various working groups to study different aspects of electoral management.
“At present, there is no cap on the expenditure to be incurred for an election by the political parties. There is felt need for having such cap for a level playing field,” read the recommendation. In 2015, the EC had recommended to the Law Ministry to cap maximum expenditure of political parties to “a multiple of half of maximum prescribed limit for individual candidates with the number of candidates fielded”.
The government is yet to take a call on the proposal.
The election watchdog has been pushing for greater transparency in election-related expenditure by parties and candidates.
The ceiling on expense by individual candidates varies from State to State depending on population and number of assembly or Lok Sabha seats.