Election Expenditure Ledger a candidate's running account against the ceiling

Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 makes every candidate keep a separate and correct account of election expenses from the date of nomination to the date the result is declared, and Rule 90 of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961 caps the total. This page keeps that account: enter each expense as it happens, and the ledger shows the total by head, how fast the money is going, where the campaign will land on counting day at the present rate, and the date by which the account must be lodged. Everything stays in this browser. Export the CSV for the expenditure observer or the election agent.

The election

Add an expense

Ledger file

Saved automatically in this browser's local storage. Nothing is sent anywhere. The CSV columns are date, head, description, amount, paid by, mode, voucher, units and rate.

Where the campaign stands

Cumulative spend against the ceiling

By head

Entries

Section 77(1), Representation of the People Act 1951"Every candidate at an election shall, either by himself or by his election agent, keep a separate and correct account of all expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorized by him or by his election agent between the date on which he has been nominated and the date of declaration of the result thereof, both dates inclusive." Explanation 1 excludes expenditure by a political party or by any other association, body of persons or individual, other than the candidate or his election agent, on general party propaganda; expenditure by any person with the candidate's authorisation is the candidate's.
Section 77(3) and Rule 90"The total of the said expenditure shall not exceed such amount as may be prescribed." Rule 90 of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961, as amended by the notification of 6 January 2022, sets the maximum at ₹95 lakh for a parliamentary constituency in the larger states and ₹75 lakh in the smaller states and Union territories, and at ₹40 lakh and ₹28 lakh for an assembly constituency. The previous figures (₹70 lakh / ₹54 lakh and ₹28 lakh / ₹20 lakh) dated from 2014, with a 10 per cent interim increase in October 2020.
Section 78 and section 10AEvery contesting candidate must lodge the account with the district election officer "within thirty days from the date of election of the returned candidate". Failure to lodge it in the time and manner required, without good reason or justification, lets the Election Commission disqualify the candidate for three years under section 10A. Exceeding the ceiling is a corrupt practice under section 123(6), a ground for setting aside the election on an election petition.

The heads follow the register the Election Commission's expenditure observers work from: public meetings and rallies, campaign materials, vehicles, print and electronic media advertisements, digital campaigning, campaign workers, offices and accommodation, refreshments, and items attributed at the district rate card. Where a state's notification sets a different ceiling from the one pre-filled here, the ceiling box is editable and the page uses the edited figure everywhere. The classification of states into the two bands reproduces the pattern of the 2014 and 2022 notifications; check the notification for the election in hand before relying on it.