Rs 2,500 rate for one vote in Andhra Pradesh, parties spent Rs 10,000 crore this election: TDP MP

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP J C Diwakar Reddy on Monday said that all political parties in Andhra Pradesh together had spent Rs 10,000 crore in the recent April 11 elections for Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls.

Blaming voters for demanding money to cast their ballots, Reddy said that he himself had spent nearly Rs 50 crore during the recently held Lok Sabha polls in the state.

According to the minister, the going rate for a single vote in this election was Rs 2,500.

“The elections were held on April 11. The position is such that people ask money when we go for campaign. – they say the other party has given us 2000 rupees, so you give us 2500 rupees. At least 50 crore have been spent by each party in their constituency. A total of at least 10,000 crore has been spent by all parties - everyone is to be blamed. Where is this money coming from- it is money from corruption,” Reddy was quoted by News18 as saying.

“I do not want to accuse one particular party. I am telling you all the parties in the state have spent at least 50 crore per constituency. The rate per vote in Andhra is 2000-2500 rupees,” he added.

The Election Commission had seized the most amount of unaccounted cash in the run up to the elections. After the poll panel announced the election schedule, around Rs 116 crore was seized.

As per norms laid out by the Election Commission, the maximum expenditure a candidate contesting the Lok Sabha elections can incur is Rs 70 lakh and the limit for those contesting assembly elections is Rs 28 lakh. The candidates are required to submit the expenditure details to the poll panel after the election process is over.