Election Commission stipulates code for panchayat elections

Parigi: With the exercise for conduct of panchayat polls being taken up on a war-footing basis, the Election Commission has released notification poll code. It raised the cap on campaign expenditure of the candidate. It is being treated as good news by contestants in the panchayat polls being conducted for the first time after the formation of Telangana.

For the panchayats with more than 5,000 population, the expenditure limit is Rs 2.5 lakh for panchayat candidate and Rs 50,000 for ward members. If the population is below 5,000, the respective limits will be Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 30,000 simultaneously. It is compulsory for the candidates to submit details of the daily expenditure to the MPDO concerned. For this, they have to open bank accounts to conduct transactions. EC has made the MPDO responsible for checking the details of campaign expenditure by the candidates. It is also going to deploy special teams in cross-checking the details.

According the new amendment made to the Panchayat Act, details on poll expenditure by sarpanch candidates must be submitted within 40 days from the voting date. It is also clearly mentioned that if the details are not submitted, there is a chance of barring the candidate concerned from the future elections.