New Delhi, (Samajweekly) In the Gujarat Assembly elections held last year, out of the total 182 legislators, 164 MLAs spent funds on public meetings, processions etc. involving star campaigners, according to a report prepared by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Gujarat Election Watch.
The report said that 164 MLAs, which is 90 per cent of the total MLAs, have declared that they spent funds on public meetings, processions etc. involving star campaigners.
The report also said that 18 MLAs have declared that they did not spend any funds on public meetings, processions etc. with star campaigners (other than those for general party propaganda).
It also pointed out that all the MLAs in the state Assembly declared that they had spent funds on public meetings, processions etc. without star campaigners.
Meanwhile, 97 out of the 182 MLAs have declared that they spent funds on campaigning through electronic or print media, while 85 MLAs (47 per cent) declared that they did not spend any funds on campaigning through electronic or print media.
The report also pointed out that 172 (95 per cent) MLAs have declared that they spent funds on campaign workers, while 10 (5 per cent) MLAs have declared that they did not spend any funds on campaign workers.
As per the report, 145 (80 per cent) MLAs have declared that they spent funds on campaign materials, while 37 (20 per cent) MLAs declared that they did not spend any funds on campaign materials.
The report is based on the election expenditure statements submitted after the Gujarat Assembly elections. The expenditure limit for the MLAs during the Gujarat polls was Rs 40 lakh each.
