World's Costliest Elections: India Spends ₹1.42 Lakh Crore!

The excitement of elections isn't just about parties, candidates, and voters. It's also about the massive flow of money, alcohol, and allurements. The cost of elections in India has skyrocketed, with an estimated ₹1.42 lakh crore spent this time. Political analysts say this expense is equivalent to the budget of an entire state. Not just in India, but these are reportedly the most expensive elections globally.

Remember Mahesh Babu's famous dialogue from the movie "Businessman"? It perfectly fits the current election expenses. In the movie, Mahesh explains the soaring cost of votes, highlighting how each voter could demand up to ₹5000. This dialogue resonates strongly with today's election expenses. Beyond just distributing money to voters, every aspect, from social media maintenance to rallies and meetings, involves huge costs.

India is in the midst of its general elections, a grand celebration in the world's largest democracy. Elections here are closely watched by countries worldwide. However, the increasing flow of money in our elections is worrying. This time, the 2024 general elections are estimated to have cost around ₹1.42 lakh crore, according to the Center for Media Studies (CMS). This makes our elections the richest in the world.

In 2019, the general elections cost around ₹60,000 crore. This time, the expenditure has more than doubled to ₹1.42 lakh crore. In comparison, the 2020 US presidential elections cost ₹1.20 lakh crore. Despite the US being a superpower, our election expenses exceed theirs by ₹22,000 crore. With 96 crore voters in our country, experts estimate that approximately ₹1400 is spent per voter. The jump from ₹60,000 crore in 2019 to ₹1.42 lakh crore now is indeed alarming.

The Center for Media Studies, a non-profit organization, has been monitoring election expenses for 35 years. According to its chairman, Bhaskar Rao, this year's Lok Sabha elections saw an unprecedented expenditure. This includes costs by the Election Commission, central and state governments, candidates, various organizations, and political parties.

All direct and indirect expenses by parties and candidates are considered. Among the major political parties, BJP reportedly spent the most on publicity. Initially, CMS estimated the expenses to be ₹1.2 lakh crore, but after the electoral bond details emerged, they revised it to ₹1.42 lakh crore. Funds reach parties through many channels, not just electoral bonds. The Association for Democratic Reforms reports that six major parties in India received ₹19,000 crore as secret donations from 2004 to 2023.

CMS highlights that election expenses include rallies, transportation, gatherings, influencer payments, leader bribes, TV and newspaper ads, wall writings, posters, flexes, and digital campaigns. Out of the ₹1.42 lakh crore spent on elections, only 10-15% is estimated to be the Election Commission's expense. Around 30% of the total cost is attributed to media campaigns. Considering the hidden expenditures behind the long election process, the estimates could be even higher.