7.5.2. State Funding of Elections

State Funding of elections has been a contested issue when it comes to electoral reforms related to electoral financing and funding. A few government reports have looked at state funding of elections in the past, including:

Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998): It endorsed state funding of elections, observing full constitutional, legal justification as well as on ground of public interest. It recommended that state funding of elections can establish a fair playing field for parties with less money. The Committee recommended two limitations to state funding:

♤ Firstly, that state funds should be given only to national and state parties allotted a symbol and not to independent candidates.

♤ Secondly, that in the short-term state funding should only be given in kind, in the form of certain facilities to the recognised political parties and their candidates.

The Committee noted that at the time of the report the economic situation of the country only suited partial and not full state funding of elections.

1999 Law Commission of India: This report concluded that total state funding of elections is “desirable” so long as political parties are prohibited from taking funds from other sources. The Commission suggested that only partial state funding was possible given the economic conditions of the country at that time.

It also strongly recommended that the appropriate regulatory framework be put in place with regard to political parties (provisions ensuring internal democracy, internal structures and maintenance of accounts, their auditing and submission to Election Commission) before state funding of elections is attempted.

2nd ARC Report: The “Ethics in Governance”, a report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2008) also recommended partial state funding of elections for the purpose of reducing “illegitimate and unnecessary funding” of elections expenses.

National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, 2001: It did not endorse state funding of elections but concurred with the 1999 Law Commission report that the appropriate framework for regulation of political parties would need to be implemented before state funding is considered.