Recently, Congress provided details to the Election Commission on the expenditure incurred on each Lok Sabha candidate during the 2024 elections. The party disclosed that Rahul Gandhi was granted INR 70 lakh each to contest from Wayanad and Rae Bareli. Notably, Rahul Gandhi emerged victorious from both constituencies but eventually retained the Rae Bareli seat, relinquishing Wayanad. Congress secured 99 seats in the parliamentary elections, with Rahul winning in two.
According to the agency, the highest amount from the party fund, INR 87 lakh, was allocated to Vikramaditya Singh, although he lost to BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi seat. The information provided to the Election Commission included other leaders who received INR 70 lakh, such as Kishori Lal Sharma, who defeated former BJP MP Smriti Irani.
Anand Sharma's Allocation
Names like KC Venugopal (from Alappuzha, Kerala) and Manickam Tagore (from Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu) feature in the list of leaders receiving INR 70 lakh. Congress candidates Radhakrishna (from Gulbarga, Karnataka) and Vijay Inder Singla (from Anandpur Sahib, Punjab) were also granted INR 70 lakh each. Senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Digvijaya Singh, both of whom lost their elections, were allotted INR 46 lakh and INR 50 lakh, respectively.
Spending Limit Increase on Election Commission's Recommendation
There is usually a cap on the expenditure for election campaigns by candidates, but no such limit exists for political parties. Following the Election Commission's recommendation in January 2022, the government increased the expenditure limit for Lok Sabha candidates from INR 70 lakh to INR 95 lakh, and from INR 28 lakh to INR 40 lakh for Assembly elections.
Separate Limits for Large and Small States
The revised expenditure limit for Lok Sabha elections varies for larger and smaller states. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases, with results declared on June 4. Last month, Congress submitted its 'partial election expenditure report' for the Lok Sabha elections and the state elections in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh to the Election Commission. This report covered the one-time funds provided by the party to its candidates for contesting elections.
