SPECTRUM OF MODERN ELECTIONEERING: CAMPAIGN BUDGETS AND SPENDING PATTERNS IMPACTING INDIAN DEMOCRACY

Abstract

The process of election is not just a mechanism to voice up the citizens to express their opinions and choose representatives for the entire nation but also considered as the backbone of the democratic system. This paper examines the relationship between the interlinked concepts of election and democracy because the elections are the mechanism and democracy is the ideal. However, the alarming increase in the election expenses has created a hurdle for capable yet under-resourced candidates from stepping into the Legislative Organs. Election campaigns have highlighted the rapid increase in electoral spending, which erodes democracy, questions transparency and threatens free and fair elections. Through this research, we aim to probe the financial electoral trends in election campaigns and their outcomes and reflect how democracy can be reclaimed from money power and restored to its rightful custodian- the citizens.

This research paper reveals how the development has become politicized and also shows the influence of ‘the price of money’ in the recent elections which cause a steady rise in election campaigns. Furthermore, this paper concludes with proposals of robust legal provisions regarding the limits on electoral spending, stringent action against the illegal means etc. to maintain the essence of election.