Simultaneous polls to reduce election expenditure by at least 30%: Expert

New Delhi: Poll expenditure can be reduced by at least 30 per cent when 'one nation, one election' is implemented, depending on the efficiency of the Election Commission and cooperation from political parties, according to a poll expenditure expert .

However, N Bhaskara Rao, who has been tracking poll expenditures for over three decades, flagged that the election spending will not reduce significantly without curbing the 'note for vote' or voter inducement.

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Rao, who heads the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), had estimated that if elections at all levels in India are held in 2024, it will cost over Rs 10 lakh crore.

He said the estimates were made ahead of the parliamentary polls and the actual figure could be much higher for future elections.

Rao clarified that these figures also include unaccounted expenditure in addition to official expenditure figures reported by parties to Election Commission and the expenses incurred by the government in holding the elections.

"Rs 3-5 lakh crore of the estimated Rs 10 lakh crore poll expenditure could be saved when 'one nation, one election' idea is adopted, depending on how effective ECI is and how cooperative parties are going to be," Rao told PTI.

"One nation, one election initiative by itself will not reduce poll expenditure significantly or substantially. Unless, the present practices by political parties to do with candidate selection, campaigning, and incumbents indulgence are restrained; ECI becomes more effective, its Model Code of Conduct is adopted by parties and poll schedule becomes more rational," he added.

He explained that the Rs 10 lakh crore estimation included election expenditure at Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and for municipalities and panchayats (three levels), on a five year tenure basis.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the report by a high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous polls.

"A one-week poll is likely to bring down poll expenditure far more, instead of continuing with polls nationally stretched and spread over seven or nine phases as in 2014 (36 days) or 2019 (39 days).

"By having simultaneous polls for different levels what is likely to be reduced marginally or visibly is expenditure on travel, printing, media campaign, booth level logistics, and the like. Without curbing the 'note for vote' (voter inducements), poll expenditure will not reduce significantly," Rao said.

The expert had earlier predicted that 2024 Lok Sabha poll expenditure alone will involve around Rs 1.2 lakh crore, of this ECI is estimated to spend hardly 20 per cent (expenditure on new EVMs is not included).

"The expenditure trend at panchayat levels is more or less in the same lines, however the party line competition has intensified in more villages than before. However, 'publicity expenditure' at this level is not even 10 per cent of assembly level expenditure.

"The number of parties and candidates contesting has been increasing and there are no efforts to moderate the number of candidates at any level," he said.