The 2019 Elections Came Down to Money, EVM Machines and the Media

'Within a week of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections coming to a close, the Election Commission (EC) constituted working groups headed by senior functionaries to review specific areas of concern. The EC need not have bothered with this post mortem; it is clear to everyone that this election was dominated by three ‘M’s: money, machine and media. The fourth ‘M’ – the model code of conduct – was reduced to waste paper.

The total expenditure on this election is estimated to have been a staggering Rs 60,000 crore, making it the most expensive in the world and more than double the 2014 polls, according to the Centre for Media Studies (CMS). As per the report, out of this the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party spent close to Rs 27,000 crore – or 45%. CMS chairperson N. Bhaskara Rao, said, “The Mother of all corruption lies in the spiralling election expenditure. If we are not able to address this, we can’t check corruption in India.” Sadly, the major source of this money is corporate, that too dubious. This has happened because of the introduction of electoral bonds – a retrograde measure that radically alters the transparency of electoral funding...'

[Full article on The Wire.]