The Election Commission Wednesday wrote to the Reserve Bank of India, requesting it to hike the weekly withdrawal limit for candidates contesting in the upcoming assembly elections in five states.
The poll panel proposed that the withdrawal limit must be hiked from the existing Rs 24,000 per week to Rs 2 lakh to allow the candidate to meet the expenditure costs incurred during campaigning.
According to the EC website, a candidate contesting for an assembly seat from bigger states, such as Uttar Pradesh, must not exceed Rs 16 lakh towards campaign expenses. The limit is set at Rs 8 lakh for smaller states like Goa. However, in 2014, the government agreed to increase the limit from Rs 16 lakh to Rs 28 lakh. It appears that the information has not been updated in the EC site’s FAQs section.
Earlier today, in his address to the nation, President Pranab Mukherjee asked the EC to look into the viability of conducting elections for Lok Sabha and assembly seats simultaneously. On demonetisation, the president said it may have led to a temporary slowdown of the economy, but it will improve transparency as India moves towards a cashless economy.
On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes will be invalid and gave a window of 50-days, which was later revised, to exchange the demonetised notes. Five states — Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur — will go to polls beginning from February 4. The elections will be conducted in a phase-wise manner in UP and Manipur. Counting of votes will begin on March 8.
(With agency inputs)
Also read: “Demonetisation will bring transparency”: President in Republic Day Address