Poll observers warn of action if expenditure exceeds limit

Amritsar, May 16

With the filling of nominations, the election campaign of various parties and candidates picked up pace and poll expenditure also witnessed a rise in the past few days. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spent Rs 27.97 lakh by way of poll expenditure on publicity and campaign till May 11. Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Anil Joshi spent Rs 20.13 lakh during this period. As per the data available till May 11, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent just Rs 14 lakh on campaign while the Congress party candidate Gurjit Singh Aujla spent Rs 19.92 lakh till May 11.

As per the instructions issued by the Election Commission, a candidate contesting the Lok Sabha election can spend Rs 95 lakh on their campaign. The election observer today stated that candidature of the contesting candidate can also be cancelled in case they are found to be spending more than Rs 95 lakh. Addressing the meeting, Ganesh Sudhakar, the election observer, said that teams have been formed by the administration to keep an eye on poll expenditure. He said videography of election rallies and street corner meetings of the contesting candidates is also being done. He said that for promotion on social media, it is necessary to take approval from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).

Election observer (General) Radha Binod Sharma held a meeting with the contesting candidates and their representatives today. He asked the candidates to campaign openly but keep sharing the details of expenditure with the district administration. He said that all the candidates are equal for him and if any candidate has any complaint, he can contact him on the toll-free number 1950, Cvigil app or personally. Sharma said that no political party or candidate can disrupt the campaign, rally or procession of another political party or candidate.

Poll observers stress on rule compliance

The three poll observers deputed by the Election Commission held a meeting with officials at the District Administrative Complex (DAC) here on Thursday. In an official press release, it was informed that Abhimanyu Kumar, General Observer, Anurag Tripathi, Expenditure Observer, and Sweta Srimali, the Police Observer, along with Sandeep Kumar, Returning Officer for Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency and SSP Ashwani Kapur, SP (Headquarters) Parwinder Kaur, were among those who attended the meeting.