The Election Commission has informed the Government that it is not in favour of state funding of elections, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Monday. The commission is of the view that it would not be able to prohibit or check candidates’ expenditure over and above the state’s provision, he said.
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Mr. Thakur was responding to a question from Congress MP Anumula Revanth Reddy on whether the government was mulling the introduction of state funding of polls as recommended by the Indrajit Gupta Committee in 1998.
That panel had suggested that state funding would ensure a level playing field for poorer political parties and argued that such a move would be in public interest. The committee had recommended some limitations, saying that state funds should only be given to recognised national and State parties and that funding should be given in kind, in the form of free facilities provided to these parties and their candidates. The panel admitted that only partial funding may be possible.
