Gujarat's poll bill is Rs250 crore

Polling may be over but the candidates and the parties are busy footing bills for seeking your vote. In the absence of any authentic data, if guestimates of insiders are to be believed, Gujarati netas have spent over Rs 250 crore in this election.

Everyone is curious to know where and how. DNA gives a peek into the world of green notes that changed hands to buy power. It is known that financial clout is one of the primary qualifications to become a neta. The EC norm of Rs25 lakh expenditure per candidate is considered “highly unrealistic”.

Candidates of mainstream parties are happy to spend that kind of money from their own pockets. Add the party funds and the expenses incurred on booth and ‘karyakarta’ management, free services and logistics — the figure crosses 1.5 cr mark per canddiate on an average. Add all other expenses and the stock-taking of the poll spending touches dizzy heights:

Choppers & SUVs
The money spent on transportation constitutes a major chunk of poll expenses. “Rural seats cost more because their lower population density makes it necessary for candidates to travel long distances,” a worker said.

The large number of SUVs rented by the Congress for its campaign during the assembly elections of 2007, cost the party too much. After that bitter experience, the party has been careful not to repeat the mistake but each candidate who hires vehicles can claim reimbursement. Each party had at its disposal three helicopters to make it easy for their major campaigners to move from place to place.

BJP had hired 2 private aircraft & the Congress had rented 1. The parties had to pay Rs3 to Rs4 lakh per day for each chopper, sources say

Swamis and chieftains
All and sundry get to make merry during elections once every five years,” a BJP worker observed. “Community leaders and, in some areas, so called religious leaders, need to be kept in good humour. Several NGOs had fielded candidates in the hope of dividing the votes. So they, too, had to be placated.” And all this costs money. 

Some communities tend to vote as a group. The more members such a community has, the higher is the quote of the community leader. “Politicians are expected to fund several local community activities. Sometimes personal whims of members also had to be attended to,”  said a worker.

Rural areas have more community and religious leaders, who had to be appeased. Many places of worship had sprung up before the polls in many villages

Rallies, food & booze
Each political rally of Narendra Modi, LK Advani and Sonia Gandhi cost a minimum of Rs25 lakh, said a source, adding that this was a very conservative estimate. “A lot of money is spent on transporting people from their villages to the venue, where the meeting is held.

Without chavana and theli (country liquor and snacks), it is difficult to get people to attend election rallies, even if it is to be addressed by a party bigwig. They have to be lured with food and liquor packets for the day. The bigger the leader, the bigger the rally, and this, in turn, means higher expenditure,” the source said. 

Those attending the rallies have to be  given food and liquor packets. The bigger the leader, the bigger the rally and this, in turn, means higher cost