In a statement that could draw the attention of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy has asserted that the election expenses have crossed ₹ 10,000 crore in the State. On an average, each candidate spent anywhere around ₹25 crore in each parliamentary constituency, he claimed.
“The elections have become a costly proposition. According to my estimate, all the political parties together had spent over ₹10,000 crore in the just-concluded elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assembly in the State,” he said while talking to reporters at Undavalli near here on Monday.
Mr. Reddy, who represents the Anantapur parliamentary constituency, did not contest the elections this time. Instead, his son Pawan Kumar Reddy entered the fray on a TDP ticket. He was in the city to attend a review meeting on the party’s performance in the recent elections conducted by TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
‘Reforms needed’
Blaming the voters for the abnormal escalation in election expenditure, Mr. Reddy said: “The voters are openly demanding money for casting their votes. They are not accepting anything less than ₹2,000 per vote. Some agricultural labourers and daily wage workers are demanding ₹5,000 per vote.” He underscored the need for changing the system of conducting elections by bringing in political reforms to curtail the expenditure.
