Why biriyani, fireworks may cost candidates dear

CHENNAI: The assembly elections are over, but the EC scanner is now on the candidates’ expenditure accounts. And if candidates thought that small matters like biriyani and fireworks could be dismissed as incidentals, they are in for a surprise. Candidates who supplied biriyani to their cadres during election campaigns are likely to face the music when they submit their expenditure statements before the Election Commission in June.
A chicken biriyani will add Rs 100 to the candidate’s expenditure sheet while a vegetarian biriyani will cost Rs 30 per head. If anyone set off fireworks for a candidate, it will add to his or her account. Likewise, tying party flags onto two-wheelers will add Rs 300 each to the candidate’s expenditure, according to chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar.
Those who put up huge arches covered in velvet cloth will also be in trouble, as he or she has to bear Rs 7.50 for square feet. If the candidate’s pubic meeting venue was decorated with flower pots, then Rs 25 each per pot will be charged. If anybody had hired filmstars and other VIPs for their campaign, then the expenses will go to that particular candidate’s account. If the campaigner used AC rooms, that too would add to the candidate’s expenditure.
“We will first look into both the accounts — the one prepared by the monitoring committee and the other submitted by the candidates. The real expenditure will be calculated based on the two reports. If any candidate’s expenditure has crossed the Rs 16 lakh limit, he will be disqualified,” said Praveen Kumar.
However, senior political leaders said the accounts of their candidates would not cross the amount allotted for each, which is Rs 16 lakh. “In the recent election, we have even advised our candidates not to spend more than what the EC allotted. And many of them obeyed the EC rule. So we won’t be facing any problems,” said a senior AIADMK leader. DMDK Virudhunagar candidate K Pandyarajan, however, welcomed the EC’s decision to cut down the expenditure of candidates.