#Government plans to ban #foreign funding of electoral #trusts

Union Government is "actively considering" a proposal of Election Commission to debar electoral trusts from receiving foreign funding.
As per the current laws Section 4 of the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1976 and Section 3 of Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 specify that political parties are NOT permitted to accept contributions from any foreign source or company.
Electoral Trusts, whose sole purpose under Section 13B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 is to fund registered political parties in a transparent manner, are also governed under Rule 17(CA) of the Income Tax Rules,1962.
Specifically under Rule 17CA, sub-clause (2) and (4) of the Income tax Rules, 1962, the CBDT lists the sources from whom the Trusts are permitted and NOT permitted to accept donations.Rule 17(CA) was notified by the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Dept. of Revenue in 2013 on 31st January, 2013, in the exercise of the powers conferred to it by clause (b) of Section 13(b) read with Section 295 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Association for Democratic Reforms or ADR has recomanded that all electoral trusts should adhere to Rule 17(CA) of the Income Tax Rules, 1962 which lists the functions of the electoral trusts and the Electoral Trusts Scheme, 2013 notified by the Central Government.
The same rules which apply to those trusts formed after 31st January, 2013 should also apply to the electoral trust in existence prior to 31st January, 2013.

#SupremeCourt sends notice to Centre and EC to bring political parties under RTI

The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Central Government, Election Commission of India and the six National Political Parties – BJP, Cong, BSP, CPI, CPI(M) and NCP, while admitting a petition filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal on 19th May 2015 to declare all the six national political parties as "public authorities".

A Bench comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu, Justice Arun Kumar Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy ordered all the eight respondents to submit their responses within six weeks. The petition was necessitated by the refusal of the National Parties to comply with the CIC full Bench order of 3rd June 2013 declaring the National Political Parties to be “Public Authority “under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. On 16th March 2015, the CIC expressed helplessness in the matter and stated that the RTI Act does not provide the Commission with the ample power to deal with cases of contempt and non-compliances.

Appearing for ADR, Counsel Prashant Bhushan told the court that under the present law, political parties exercise significant power under the anti-defection provisions given in the constitution when they can unseat representatives elected by the people if they vote against the wishes of the party.

Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, founder member of ADR said that, “I hope the Supreme Court will undo the damage done by the CIC in expressing its inability to get its decision implemented.”

The petitioners argued that the political parties play an important role in the formation of government, policy decisions and enactment of laws therefore they should be more transparent in their working and accountable towards citizen at large.

Prashant Bhushan files plea in SC to bring political parties under RTI on behalf of ADR

Urging the Supreme Court to declare all the national and regional political parties as "public authorities" and bring them within the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and RTI activist Mr. Subhash Chandra Agrawal yesterday filed a petition in the Apex court.

#PrashantBhushan files plea in SC to bring political parties under #RTI on behalf of #ADR pic.twitter.com/fEof0kv72Y

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) May 20, 2015

Seeking transparency and accountability in the functioning of recognised national and regional political parties, the plea, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, also urged the court to direct all such parties to disclose details regarding their income and expenditure. The petitioners also sought the entire details of donations and funding received by the political parties, irrespective of the amount donated as well as the full details of the donors making donations to them and to the electoral trusts.

It is to be noted that currently, political parties are required to disclose information of only those donors who donate above Rs 20,000. As this is required only to enjoy tax exemption, those parties who do not submit their contribution reports are not penalised.

“This petition has been necessitated by the arrogant defiance of the lawful decision of the Central Information Commission by six national political parties. The decision of the Supreme Court will determine whether the law of the land applies to political parties or are political parties above the law. We certainly hope the Supreme Court will uphold the law,” said Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, Founder Trustee, ADR.

Central Information Commission (CIC), on June 3, 2013, had declared six national political parties, namely the INC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP and BSP to be “public authorities” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, on a complaint filed by ADR and Mr. Agrawal.


However, none of the six political parties complied with the said order. After 22-month-long wait on non-compliance, the CIC on March 16, 2015 declared that its June 3, 2013 order was “legally correct” and “final”. The CIC lamented that the RTI Act does not provide the Commission with adequate powers to deal with the contempt and non-compliance of its orders by the political parties.

Election Commission of India (ECI) gives National CSO Award to ADR and NEW

 The Election Commission of India (ECI) awarded the prestigious ‘National CSO Award – 2015’ for “Best Voter Education and Awareness for General Election to Lok Sabha 2014” to National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms.

ADR Founder Trustees Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar and Ajit Ranade, and Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd.), Head, ADR, received the award from the hands of honourable former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on the occasion of ECI’s 5th National Voter’s Day celebrations held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. The NEW chapters of Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have received special mention in the award for their expansive and innovative campaigns to reach out to the voters.
The intensive Voter Awareness campaign named “Mera Vote Mera Desh” was launched by NEW and ADR in February 2014 and continued till the polling for 2014 Lok Sabha ended. The Campaign was undertaken in almost every state of the country through the local state chapter of NEW to educate voters on the background details of candidates and build public opinion on the need for de-criminalization and reduction of money power in politics.  

#ADR submits Memorandum to the SIT on #BlackMoney

Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, Founder-Trustee of ADR, in his letter to Hon’ble Mr Justice M B Shah, Chairman, SIT on Black Money, has stated, “We, in ADR, feel very strongly that the task of ‘preparing a comprehensive action plan, including the creation of necessary institutional structures that can enable and strengthen the country’s battle against generation of unaccounted monies, and their stashing away in foreign banks or in various forms domestically,’ as mentioned in Para 2(iv) of the ‘terms of reference’ of the SIT, cannot be completed unless due attention is paid to the possible use of unaccounted money in the electoral and political processes of the country.

o   Analysis of IT Returns of National Parties between FY 2004-05 and 2012-13 shows that the total income of the parties from unknown sources of income amounted to Rs.4,368.75 crores (72.98% of total income of national parties).

o   Curious cases like that of BSP have been observed where the party has declared total income of Rs.585.07 crores between FY 2004-05 and 2012-13 of which Rs.307.31 crores was from voluntary contributions. But the names and other particulars of these ‘voluntary’ contributors are not known, as the party has maintained that no donations above Rs.20,000 was received thereby not declaring names of a single donor in 8 years.

o   There are very few regional parties which submit their IT Returns and contribution reports to the respective authorities on a regular basis, annually.

o   Political parties either do not file their Election Expenditure statements or do not file them on time. BJP and a few regional parties have not yet submitted their expenditure statements for Karnataka Assembly Elections held in 2013 when the deadline was 22nd July, 2013. Even for the Lok Sabha elections held in 2014, 15 political parties have not submitted their election expenditure statements when the deadline was 26th August, 2014.

o   The National Parties declared a total of Rs.381.81 crores as donations collected in cash during Lok Sabha elections held in 2009 but the sources of these donations remain unavailable

Six major political parties ignore #CIC order

Six major political parties ignore #CIC order pic.twitter.com/TnA3vUr7sV
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) November 22, 2014

Following Central Information Commission’s (CIC) notice (F .No.CIC/SM/C/2011/001386) of 3rd November 2014, wherein notice was sent to 6 Political Parties viz. INC, BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI & CPM for the non-compliance of CIC’s 3rd June 2013 decision (where these 6 parties were declared “public-authorities” and hence brought under RTI) , the hearing was held today.

All 6 political parties were conspicuously absent from the hearing. This defiance was very much in-line as how 3 earlier CIC notices, that had already been sent to these parties in relation to the implementation of the 3rd June 2013 order, were treated by these parties. (The details of these 3 notices in attachment named: CIC notice to 6 Political Parties- 3rd Nov 2014)

The co-petitioners in the case Mr. Subhash Aggarwal and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) requested the Commission for penalties to be imposed on these parties (under section 20 of the RTI Act). Both the petitioners also held in their respective prayers before the bench of CIC that they should be provided exemplary compensations (under section 19 of RTI Act).

#mahaverdict : 165 alleged criminals enter #Maharashtra Assembly, finds #ADR

Out of the 288 MLAs analysed, 165 (57%) MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves.165 MLAs who have declared pending criminal cases against themselves, 51 (31%) have declared that the charges for these cases have already been framed by the court of law.
74 (61%) out of 122 MLAs analysed from BJP, 48 (76%) out of 63 MLAs from Shiv Sena, 15 (36%) out of 42 MLAs from INC and 19 (46%) out of 41 NCP MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

#Maharashtra 288 MLA's 165 w/ criminal cases 115 w/ serious cases 253 crorepatis 108 re-elected w/ assets up by 8.5cr pic.twitter.com/9Sw2UeWRry
— Ajit Ranade (@ajit_ranade) October 21, 2014

115 (40%) MLAs have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women etc. Out of 262 MLAs analysed during Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2009, 86 (33%) MLAs had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
46 (38%) out of 122 MLAs analysed from BJP, 35 (56%) out of 63 MLAs from Shiv Sena, 10 (24%) out of 42 MLAs from INC and 18 (44%) out of 41 NCP MLAs have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
3 MLAs have declared cases related to murder out of which two are from BJP and one is from Shiv Sena. 15 MLAs have declared cases of attempt to murder out of which 5 MLAs are from BJP, 2 are from NCP, 7 are from Shiv Sena and one is an Independent MLA. 11 MLAs have declared cases related to crimes against women out of these 5 are from BJP and 6 are from Shiv Sena. 8 MLAs have declared cases related to assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354).3 MLAs declared cases related to causing communal disharmony. These cases include promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony (IPC Section-153A) and Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class (IPC Section-295).14 MLAs have declared cases related to robbery and dacoity. Out of these, 5 MLAs have been fielded by BJP, 6 MLAs from Shiv Sena, 2 MLAs from NCP and 1 MLA belongs to CPI(M).

#HaryanaPolls : Nine alleged criminals enters #Haryana Assembly;ADR finding

Out of the 90 winners, 9 (10%) winners have declared criminal cases against themselves. Out of 88 winners analysed during Haryana Assembly 2009 elections, 15 (17%) winners had declared criminal cases against themselves. There has been a decrease in the percentage and number of winners in Haryana with declared criminal cases. 5 (6%) winners have declared serious criminal cases in their affidavits.

Most +ve outcome of this Haryana election is the defeat of Savitri Jindal Venod Sharma Gopal Kanda etc ...Thums-up my fellow citizens!
— श्वेता झा (@shwetzonly) October 20, 2014

5 (11%) out of 47 winners from BJP, 1 (7%) out of 15 winners from INC, 2 (11%) out of 19 winners from INLD and 1 (50%) out of 2 winners from HJC(BL) have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.2 (4%) out of 47 winners analysed from BJP, 1 (5%) out of 19 winners from INLD, 1 (7%) out of 15 winners from INC and 1 (50%) out of 2 winners from HJC(BL) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

#HaryanaElections: Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases are in the fray

6 (7%) out of 90 candidates from BJP, 4 (4%) out of 90 candidates from INC, 6 (7%) out of 88 candidates from INLD, 8 (12%) out of 65 candidates fielded by Haryana Janhit Congress (BL), 3 (4%) out of 75 candidates fielded by Haryana Lokhit Party and 31 (5%) out of 597 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

#HaryanaElections: 7% Candidates with Criminal Cases; 5% with Serious Criminal Cases; 42% Crorepatis; Rs 4.54 Cr Avg. Assets of Candidates.
— ADR India (@adrspeaks) October 8, 2014

9 (10%) out of 90 candidates from BJP, 4 (4%) out of 90 candidates from INC, 10 (11%) out of 88 candidates from INLD, 10 (15%) out of 65 candidates fielded by Haryana Janhit Congress (BL), 6 (8%) out of 75 candidates fielded by Haryana Lokhit Party and 41 (7%) out of 597 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

#Haryana #Maharashtra If you witness violation of Model Code of Conduct, call 1077 and register your complain! pic.twitter.com/1Y9gwqYabX
— ADR India (@adrspeaks) October 1, 2014

Ved Pal of Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) from Tosham constituency has declared a case related to Kidnapping or maiming a minor for purposes of begging (IPC Section-363A). Rakesh Baagh Singh an Independent candidate from Indri Constituency and Ravi Kumar of Haryana Lokhit Party from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency have declared a case related to Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person (IPC Section-365).3 candidates have declared cases related to murder. Ved Pal of Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) from Tosham constituency, Ravi Kumar of Haryana Lokhit Party from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi and Rati Ram an Independent candidate from Badli constituency have declared cases of murder. 11 candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder.

Election Commission issues guidelines for #Haryana and #Maharashtra Assembly polls

The transparency guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India to all political parties for party funds and election expenditure became effective from October 01, 2014.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 29th August, 2014, issued guidelines to all the political parties listing ways to increase transparency and accountability in party funds and election expenditure not only during elections but also in other times. The ECI stated that “Concerns have been expressed in various quarters that money power is disturbing the level playing field and vitiating the purity of elections”. Hence, in order to curb the abuse of money power, the ECI had, on 3rd October, 2013, sought suggestions and inputs from all recognised parties, most of which supported the need for transparency while a few had other suggestions and views.

Based on the suggestions received from the political parties, the ECI has stated that effective from 1st October, 2014, all political parties are required to keep and maintain books of accounts and documents so as to enable calculation of the parties’ income. The parties are required to maintain accounts based on the guidance note issued by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and that the accounts need to be audited and certified by qualified practicing Chartered Accountants. These accounts are to be submitted annually to the ECI along with a copy of the Auditor’s report by 31st October.

Another important guideline issued states that “…no deduction shall be allowed on the contributions made in cash by any person or company to a political party”. It also states that the parties need to maintain details of donors donating specifically during public rallies, except petty sums. Similarly, if the expenditure incurred by the parties exceeds Rs 20,000, then the payment should be made by cheque/draft and not by cash unless there is a lack of banking facility or towards payment of party functionaries.

While providing lumpsum amounts to candidates for campaigning during elections, political parties shall not exceed the ceiling prescribed for expenditure by the candidate and that the payment should be made only through crossed cheque/ draft or bank transfer.

It was not mandatory for the unrecognised political parties to submit their election expenditure statement to the ECI but the circulated guidelines also state that the unrecognised parties shall file their expenditure statements with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state where the party’s headquarters is situated.
The copies of these guidelines were not only circulated among all political parties but were also copied to the CEOs of all states, the Chairman of the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and to the President of the ICAI. For a copy of the circulated guidelines, click here.

With Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly Elections scheduled to be held on 15th October, 2014, financial transparency during elections, especially poll funding is important. While analysing the election expenditure incurred by the national parties during the Assembly Elections in 2009, ADR had reported that a total of Rs 49.99 crores was collected by the national parties by cash during Maharashtra Assembly Elections while the parties collected a total of Rs 11.47 by cash during Haryana Assembly Elections held in 2009.

ADR has also filed a petition with the Delhi High Court requesting for a process of regular submission of election expenditure statements by political parties and that it should commence a year prior to the polling date announced by the ECI till the results are declared. ADR, in its petition, has recommended the implementation of the recommendations made in the 170th Law Commission Report on Electoral Reforms, to introduce a ceiling on expenditure by parties and also that the parties submit their statements of income and expenditure a month before declaration of elections and once a week during elections.

#ADRmedialogue : 'Paid News cant be tackled at a local level' #Journalist #Anchor Alka Saxena at ADR’s Media Dialogue

The speakers talked about the increasing influence of Paid News and how it has plays a major role in opinion building process, especially in relation to the elections and suggest ways to deal with this menace.

The issue of Paid News cant be tackled at a local level. Serious and honest efforts are needed. -Alka Saxena #ADRmedialogue
— ADR India (@adrspeaks) September 25, 2014

Vipul Mudgal said, paid news is quite evident. All the laws in Haryana in the last 10 years have been passed without any discussion in the Assembly. Vested interests may have been writing the entire policy because of lack of intervention. He said intervention succeeds eventually. Therefore right interventions in the right places is needed.

#ADRmedialogue: #ADR’s Media Dialogue on #Haryana Elections pic.twitter.com/IzNiPM48ZQ
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) September 25, 2014

Alka Saxena said, the journalists and media houses involved in paid news should be heavily penalised . The term “paid news” was coined around the 2004 elections and became fully established as an industry in 2009. She said that both politicians and journalists or media houses approach each other for mutual monetary or other benefits like allotment of land, licenses for other businesses etc.

In Haryana alone, the seizure of illicit liquor is almost 2 Lakhs ltrs in last few days. -P.K Dash, DG ECI, at #ADRmedialogue
— ADR India (@adrspeaks) September 25, 2014

Sanjay Kapoor said, Paid news is against the spirit and ethics of media. Paid news became even more prevalent during the time of recession. Since revenue was low, media houses had to resort to other mediums of generating revenue. Freedom of press can always be upheld if editors stand up to the pressure. He said that Marketing executives are also influencing editorials and there is no more autonomy in editorials.

"The biggest struggle is to restore media credibility." -Sanjay Kapoor, Editor Hardnews at #ADRmedialogue
— ADR India (@adrspeaks) September 25, 2014

All the panellists felt that there should be some form of self-regulation in media and strict penalties should be enforced.

MLAs with criminal records in the present #Maharashtra assembly

MLAs with criminal records in the present #Maharashtra assembly pic.twitter.com/rHpzfZOzb4
— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) September 15, 2014

Out of the 284 outgoing MLAs from the 2009 Maharashtra assembly 11 (14%) out of 81 MLAs from Congress,14 (23%) out of 61 MLAs from NCP, 19 (41%) out of 46 MLAs from BJP and 24 (53%) out of 45 MLAs from Shiv Sena had declared serious criminal cases against them in their affidavits.Gilbert Mendonca of NCP from Mira Bhayandar, Vivek Raghunath Pandit Alias Bhau of an independent MLA from Vasai constituency and Chavan Vasantrao Balwantrao an Independent MLA from Naigaon constituency had declared cases of murder in their affidavits. 11 MLAs had declared attempt to murder cases, 12 MLAs had declared cases of robbery and dacoity and 6 MLAs had declared cases related to kidnapping in their affidavits.

Political parties are hiding PAN details of their 20k plus doners;ADR

None of the 346 donors from Delhi, who donated a total of Rs 2.16 crores to INC revealed their PAN details. None of the members of INC who have donated to the party have declared their PAN details. This includes former Prime Minister, President of INC, and Ministers. Prominent members are Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sachin Pilot, Ms Meenakshi Natarajan, A.K.Antony, Jyotiraditya Scindia among others.
CPI has 3 donors donating Rs 4.21 lakhs without PAN details and AAP with 6 donors who contributed Rs 1.62 lakhs without providing their PAN details.
At the national level, all the six national parties viz., Congress,  Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Bahujan Samaj Party,  CPI and CPM together received Rs. 99.14 crores from 3,777 donors who made a contribution above Rs. 20,000.The regional parties received Rs. 6.45 crores from 234 donors who donated above Rs. 20,000.
ADR further noted that BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) did not receive any donation above Rs. 20,000 in the financial year 2012-2013 as per records  provided by the party.
It added: "Among the regional parties SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal) had the maximum number of donors (62) from all over India who donated Rs. 1.81 crores followed by AAP with 59 donors contributing Rs. 73.94 lakhs and RLD with 56 donors  contributing Rs.1.09 crores. The maximum amount was declared by Samajwadi  Party where only 12 donors donated Rs. 2.24 crores."
Interesting to note that the Supreme Court gave a judgment on September 13, 2013 declaring that no part of a candidate’s affidavit should be left blank. Similarly, no part of the Form 24A submitted by political parties providing details of donations above Rs 20,000 should be blank.

#Mansukhbhai Vasava, #Uma Bharti & #Sadananda Gowda spend max as election expenses in #Modi Sarkar

Maximum expense of about Rs 67.31 Lakhs (96% of the expense limit) has been declared by Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava (MoS for Tribal Affairs) of BJP from Bharuch constituency, Gujarat followed by Uma Bharti of BJP from Jhansi constituency, Uttar Pradesh with an expense of Rs 59.64 lakhs (or 85% of the expense limit) and D.V. Sadananda Gowda of BJP from Bangalore North constituency, Karnataka with an expense of Rs 59.35 Lakhs (or 85% of the expense limit)

Ministers with lowest Election Expenses: Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati of TDP from Vizianagaram Constituency, Andhra Pradesh has declared an election expenditure of Rs. 4.10 lakhs (6% of the expense limit). He is followed by Kiren Rijiju of BJP from Arunachal West constituency, Arunachal Pradesh who has declared election expenditure of Rs. 13.70 lakhs (25% of the expense limit), Raj Nath Singh of BJP from Lucknow Constituency, Uttar Pradesh with election expenses of Rs. 17.76 lakhs (25% of the expense limit) and Dr. Jitendra Singh of BJP from Udhampur Constituency, Jammu and Kashmir with election expenses of Rs. 21.97 lakhs (31% of the expense limit).

National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analyzed the election expense statements submitted after the Lok Sabha Elections of 2014 for 537 MPs. The remaining expenditure statements of the rest of the MPs were not analysed due to the unavailability of the statements at the time of the making of this report. These election expense documents include details of expenses on public meeting and processions, campaigning through electronic and print media, expense on campaign workers, expense on vehicles used and expense on campaign materials.

The expenditure limits for Lok Sabha elections were raised this year from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 70 lakh for each Lok Sabha constituency in bigger states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka etc, and from Rs 22 lakh to Rs. 54 Lakhs in smaller states like Goa. This revision of election expenditure limits came after sustained efforts by the candidates contesting elections. However, upon analyzing the expenditure statements submitted by the MPs of the Lok Sabha 2014 elections to the ECI, it is seen that the MPs continue to declare election expenditure which is significantly lower than the expense limit.

Less than 50% of the Limit: Candidates have constantly claimed that the election expenditure limit set is very low. However, based on the election expense declarations of 537 MPs analysed from Lok Sabha, 2014 to the ECI, 176 MPs (33%) have declared election expenses of less than 50% of the expense limit in their constituency

Expenditure more than the Expense Limit: One MP declared election expenditure more than the prescribed expense limit. Gourav Gogoi of INC from Kaliabor Constituency, Assam declared an election expenditure of Rs. 82.40 Lakhs (118% of the expense limit)

Average Election Expenses: Based on the election expense declarations of 537 MPs from Lok Sabha 2014 to the ECI, the average amount of money spent by them in the elections is only about Rs 40.33 lakhs, which is 58% of the expense limit.

Party-wise Average Election Expenses: The party wise average election expenses shows that the average spending for 277 MPs from BJP is Rs 41.81 lakhs (60% of the average expense limit), for 44 MPs from INC is Rs 41.63 lakhs (60% of the average expense limit), for 37 MPs from AIADMK is Rs 35.66 Lakhs (51% of the average expense limit) and for 34 MPs from AITC is Rs. 46.51 Lakhs (67% of the average expense limit).

Expense on Public Meeting, Rally, and Processions with Star Campaigners: Out of the 537 MPs analyzed, 108 (20%) MPs have declared that they have not spent ANY amount on public meetings, processions etc with Star Campaigners.

Expense on Campaigning through electronic/print media: 108 (20%) MPs have declared that they have not spent ANY amount on campaigning through electronic/print media.

Expense on Campaign Workers: 100 (19%) MPs have declared that they have not spent ANY amount on campaign workers.

Expense on Vehicles used: 5 (1%) MPs have declared that they have not spent ANY amount on Vehicles Used.

Expense on Campaign Materials.: 72 (13%) MPs have declared that they have not spent ANY amount on Campaign Materials

53 MPs of the Lok Sabha face disqualification

Supreme Court’s judgment dated 10th March, 2014 directed all trial courts to expedite and conclude cases against MPs and MLAs within one year from the date of framing of charges.
In this connection, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) today released a list of 53 MPs of the 16thLok Sabha against whom charges have been framed under Sections 8(1), 8(2) & 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. According to the Supreme Court judgment of 10th July 2013 (Lily Thomas and Ors vs Union of India and Ors), these MPs will face disqualification if convicted in the above cases.
The push towards de-criminalization of politics has been strengthened by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s recent speech in the Rajya Sabha, where he emphasized on the urgent need to cleanse the Parliament of members with tainted records through the judicial mechanism within one year. ADR and NEW welcome this statement of the Prime Minister on the floor of the Rajya Sabha. We urge and expect the Prime Minister to deliver his promise of a taint free Parliament by 2015. Towards this end, ADR and NEW urge the Prime Minister to: Write to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to ensure that all pending criminal cases against MPs are decided within one year of the date the results of the election were announced and get a unanimous resolution passed both Houses of Parliament requesting the Chief Justice to ensure the above.

The following 10 MPs have declared criminal cases where the charges have been framed which fall under both Section 8(1) and 8(3) of the RP Act:

S.No	Name of the MP	Party	Constituency
1	Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh	BJP	Kaiserganj
2	Mahesh Giri	BJP	East Delhi
3	Uma Bharti	BJP	Jhansi
4	Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi	BJP	Kanpur
5	Lal Krishna Advani	BJP	Gandhinagar
6	Nalin Kumar Katil	BJP	Dakshina Kannada
7	Suresh Angadi	BJP	Belgaum
8	Ganesh Singh	BJP	Satna
9	Shrimant Chh. Udayanraje Pratapsinha Bhonsale	NCP	Satara
10	Anbumani Ramadoss	Pattali Makkal Katchi	Dharmapuri

MPs with Highest Number of declared criminal cases where charges have been framed which fall under Section 8(1) and/or 8(3) of the RP Act (the complete list is in the report):

S.No	Name	Party	Constituency	Total Cases
1	Rajesh Ranjan Urf Pappu Yadav	RJD	Madhepura	13
2	Shrimant Chh. Udayanraje Pratapsinha Bhonsale	NCP	Satara	6
3	P Karunakaran	CPI(M)	Kasaragod	6
4	Tathagata Satpathy	BJD	Dhenkanal	6
5	Adv.Joice George	IND	Idukki	4
6	P K Sreemathi	CPI(M)	Kannur	4

Party wise MPs with declared criminal cases where charges have been framed which fall under Section 8(1) and/or 8(3) of the RP Act:

Party	Number of MPs
BJP	24
Shiv Sena	5
AITC	4
AIADMK	3
RJD	3
CPI(M)	2
INC	1
JMM	1
LJP	1
NCP	1
Pattali Makkal Katchi	1
Revolutionary Socialist Party	1
BJD	1
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen	1
Swabhimani Paksha	1
TRS	1
IND	2
Total	53

First time Lok Sabha MPs with declared criminal cases where charges have been framed which fall under Section 8(1) and/or 8(3) of the RP Act:

S.No	Name	Party	State	Constituency
1	V.Sathyabama	AIADMK	Tamil Nadu	Tiruppur
2	Vijay Kumar Hansdak	JMM	Jharkhand	Rajmahal
3	Ashwini Kumar	BJP	Haryana	Karnal
4	Jadhav Sanjay (Bandu) Haribhau	Shiv Sena	Maharashtra	Parbhani
5	Hari G	AIADMK	Tamil Nadu	Arakkonam
6	P K Sreemathi	CPI(M)	Kerala	Kannur
7	Bhairon Prasad Mishra	BJP	Uttar Pradesh	Banda
8	Kunwer Sarvesh Kumar	BJP	Uttar Pradesh	Moradabad
9	Naba Kumar Sarania	IND	Assam	Kokrajhar
10	Saumitra Khan	AITC	West Bengal	Bishnupur
11	Parbhubhai Nagarbhai Vasava	BJP	Gujarat	Bardoli
12	Barne Shrirang Chandu	Shiv Sena	Maharashtra	Maval
13	A.Arunmozhithevan	AIADMK	Tamil Nadu	Cuddalore
14	B Sreeramulu	BJP	Karnataka	Bellary
15	Balka Suman	TRS	Andhra Pradesh	Peddapalle
16	Shewale Rahul Ramesh	Shiv Sena	Maharashtra	Mumbai South Central
17	Vinayak Bhaurao Raut	Shiv Sena	Maharashtra	Ratnagiri Sindhudurg
18	Lallu Singh	BJP	Uttar Pradesh	Faiz