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Full credit is due to AAP for lifting the veil on one of the most potent secrets in Indian politics: how much does it cost to run an election campaign?
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Full credit is due to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for lifting the veil on one of the most potent secrets in Indian politics: how much does it cost to run an election campaign?
AAP has said it spent ₹ 20 crore on its frugal campaign in Delhi. Let us charitably assume that the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party spent the same amount. That means the campaign in Delhi—a small state—cost major contenders somewhere around ₹ 60 crore, and more realistically around ₹ 100 crore.
We can extrapolate these costs to the national election. Delhi sends seven members to the Lok Sabha. The cost of a full Lok Sabha election for the major parties in the fray would thus collectively be between ₹ 4,000-8,000 crore, perhaps much more. Then there are the costs of state and local body elections.
The question is: where does this money come from? The answer lies at the root of a lot of big-ticket corruption in India.
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