Headlines
Parties likely to spend Rs.200 crore in Delhi polls: Assocham
New Delhi, Feb 5
Political parties are likely
to spend around Rs.200 crore on the campaign for the Feb 7 Delhi
assembly polls, with most of the spending being on advertisements in the
print and electronic media, a business chamber said Thursday.
The
Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said
the expenditure has increased by about 30-40 percent as compared to the
December 2013 assembly elections and over 60 percent of the expenses are
being spent on rallies and on advertisements in the print and
electronic media.
The bulk of the funds were being spent by the political parties, rather than by individual candidates, Assocham said.
"While
the individual candidates are subject to expenditure ceiling, there is
no threshold for the parties, a major loophole in the election law,
which must be addressed," Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said.
Among
the benefactors are television channels, newspapers, printers, social
networking sites, transport providers, caterers, airlines etc.
In
addition, advertising firms are responsible for mass mailings to
influence voters, opposition research and graphic design of signs and
pamphlets.
Consulting firms may also train campaign team members and party supporters to delegate responsibilities, points out the report.
Meanwhile,
companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook are expecting their revenue
to rise substantially this year as the political parties are spending
large sums of money on digital media.
"Majority of parties are
appealing to a younger generation of internet savvy voters. The online
medium to reach voters has become a really powerful," said Rawat.