The upcoming general elections in India will be the most expensive in Indian history and perhaps one of the most expensive ever held in any democratic country, a US-based expert has said.
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government may announce a series of vote-catching measures estimated to cost more than Rs 1 lakh crore in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The combined US presidential and congressional elections in 2016 cost USD 6.5 billion. If the 2014 Lok Sabha elections cost an estimated USD 5 billion, there is little doubt the 2019 election will easily surpass that - making India's elections the world's most expensive,
The Election Commission of India is soon expected to announce its schedule for the polls to be held to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha.
While the outcome of the next general election is up in the air, one attribute about it is already well known: it will be the most expensive general election in Indian history and perhaps one of the most expensive ever held in any democratic society.
The exorbitant cost of Indian elections has become a cardinal fact of the Indian political economy that is widely acknowledged and lamented - including by politicians and their donors. But it is not simply the material outlays that grab one's attention, it is the manner in which the money flows.
The only thing predictable about Indian elections is that they are unpredictable.
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