Maharashtra SEC revises poll expenditure limit after 8 years; Rs 15 lakh for Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur

The State Election Commission (SEC) in Maharashtra has revised expenditure limit for candidates for the upcoming local body polls, the revision coming after a gap of eight years, officials said on Thursday.

It will be Rs 15 lakh per candidate for the state's three A Class municipal bodies, namely Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, and Rs 13 lakh each for B Class civic bodies in Pimpri Chinchwad, Nashik and Thane, the SEC said in a statement.

It is Rs 11 lakh for C Class civic bodies like Kalyan Dombivali, Navi Mumbai , Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Vasai Virar, and Rs 9 lakh for the remaining 19 Class D municipal bodies, the statement added.

''The expenditure limit will be Rs 15 lakh for A Class nagar parishads for direct election to council president and Rs 5 lakh for member. For B Class nagar parishads, it is Rs 11.25 lakh for council president election and Rs 3.5 lakh for member. The expenditure limit is Rs 7.5 lakh for direct election to council president and Rs 2.5 lakh for member in C Class nagar parishads,'' the SEC said.

''For nagar panchayats, the expenditure for direct election for president is Rs 6 lakh and Rs 2.25 lakh for member. The expenditure for candidates contesting for Zilla Parishad member post with 71 to 75 seats will be Rs 9 lakh, while it will be Rs 6 lakh for panchayat samiti member,'' it added.

The statement said the the expenditure limit for members is Rs 7.5 lakh and Rs 5.25 lakh for panchayat samiti in Zilla Parishads and panchayat samitis with 61 to 70 seats.

''For gram panchayats with seven to nine members, the expenditure for direct sarpanch election is Rs 75000, while it is Rs 40000 for member. For gram panchayat with 11 to 13 members, the sarpanch election expenditure is Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 55,000 for members. For gram panchayats with 15 to 17 members, the expenditure limit for sarpanch is Rs 2.65 lakh and Rs 75000 for members,'' the SEC said.