Every election in India looks like a scoreboard.
Numbers are everywhere. Vote share. Turnout. Seat count. Who’s ahead, who’s out.
But there’s one number that never makes it to the screen.
The real cost of fighting elections.
Not what candidates officially declare. Not what shows up in affidavits. But the actual money that moves through the system quietly, systematically, and often invisibly.
On paper, elections in India appear tightly regulated. The Election Commission of India prescribes clear limits on how much a candidate can spend.
For Assembly elections, this cap is ₹40 lakh per candidate, and every rupee is supposed to be recorded and audited.
But on the ground, it operates very differently.
Sample this:
In several southern states, the actual spending by a serious candidate is often in the range of ₹20 to ₹30 crore for a single Assembly constituency.
And when you start looking closely, this isn’t an exception, it’s structured and deeply embedded into how elections are fought.
Let me explain.
Before I break down these election budgets, quick reality check.
I am going to tell you about how crores are spent by political parties like loose change.
But we don't have that kind of money.
At The News Minute, we don’t take ads or funding from governments, from political parties, or from their leaders.
Which means no one is bankrolling this coverage except… you.
And unlike election spending, ours is fully accounted for.
You can contribute to our election fund and help us keep doing journalism that actually matters.
Contribute to NL-TNM election fund: https://rzp.io/rzp/zTQadhQFFT
Like Pooja’s LME? Support the show: https://rzp.io/rzp/support-lme
So political parties don’t look at voters as one big group.
They break them down, mostly into three broad categories.
There are those who will vote for them no matter what. Those who never will. And then there’s the third group. The undecided voters.
A large part of campaign money is directed toward this third group.
At the same time, some money is also spent on making sure loyal supporters don’t stay home on polling day.
Across southern states, certain patterns keep repeating.
Money is usually distributed in the last two days before voting. Close enough for voters to remember who gave it.
But not all money reaches voters. Many politicians I spoke to say at best 80 percent is delivered, while 20 percent is siphoned off.
There’s also a clear rural-urban divide.
In rural areas, where networks are easier to track, distribution can reach up to 80% of voters.
In cities, it drops sharply. Around 25 to 40%.
Partly because turnout is lower. And partly because middle-class voters are less likely to participate in these exchanges.
Then comes the bigger question.
Where does all this money come from?
Candidates rarely fund their own campaigns.
In cities like Bengaluru or Hyderabad, they might put in just 30% of the total cost. The remaining 70% comes from elsewhere.
Real estate players are among the biggest contributors in cities.
In industrial regions like Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam, funding often comes from small and medium enterprises, traders, and manufacturing units.
Other contributors include construction companies, mill owners, and pharmaceutical firms, depending on the local economy.
These contributions are closely tied to expectations. People want easier approvals, access and fewer regulatory problems.
And in the case of construction firms, they want something more specific. Contracts. Roads. Dams. Big projects.
Funding can get even more strategic.
Leaders who aspire to become ministers may finance others, sometimes covering six or seven seats within a region. In turn, they expect loyalty from these MLAs.
And the scale?
In states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, a serious or rich candidate can spend around ₹30 crore on a single Assembly election.
That’s often more than what a Lok Sabha candidate spends across two elections in some northern states.
In fact, for some candidates, contesting itself can be profitable.
There are cases where candidates recovered large parts of their spending through business networks. Sometimes even make returns of ₹15 to ₹20 crore.
Once you see the scale, the next question is obvious.
How is this money actually used?
Because this isn’t chaotic spending.
It’s planned. Timed and Data-driven.
Take Tamil Nadu.
Internal surveys suggest that even late in the campaign, around 20-40% of voters can remain undecided.
So the final stretch becomes crucial.
The last 20 days are when the spending shoots up
Payments vary.
Generally in rural areas, around ₹1,500 per voter.
In cities, closer to ₹2,500.
Now these rates can increase
Depending on how rich the candidate is, whether they have been parachuted from another place or if the margins are too thin
The rates can go higher if the place itself is comparatively affluent- like Coimbatore or Karur
And many political analysts will tell you it’s just not possible to give bribes in every seat, there are strategic calls made on which seat, how many people etc.
Parties also pay local influencers. These are people who can influence a small set of voters. .
In the Old Mysore region which has 61 constituencies, payments are often made per household, not per voter.
A family might receive ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 in one go.
And there’s an understanding. The head of the family ensures everyone votes.
In tightly contested seats, the rates go up.
In places like Mandya, Hassan, Mysuru, it can reach ₹4,000 per voter.
And in high-stakes battles, even more.
There have been instances where segments of voters were paid as much as ₹15,000.
In North Karnataka, cash is lower. ₹500 to ₹1,500.
But that’s often balanced with alcohol distribution.
Cities like Bengaluru follow another model.
Cash, plus gift vouchers.
₹3,500 to ₹5000 in cash. And vouchers worth ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 for electronics, clothes, household items.
I was told that in the Chamundeshwari constituency, where both BJP and JD(S) worked together to defeat Siddaramaiah in 2018, voters were paid upto Rs 15000 in some cases. And mind you, all parties pay here.
Then there’s the machinery behind all the campaigns- primarily booth workers, who ensure last-mile connectivity.
One big spending for all parties is this. These payments can be anywhere between Rs 300 and Rs 2000 per day depending upon the place. This comes along with food and travel reimbursements. These payments are made over a period of 30 to 45 days leading up to the election.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the scale of operations are way more extensive.
Each constituency typically has around 250 booths, and campaigning is organised around them in a highly structured manner.
Booth workers conduct door-to-door campaigns in four rounds during the final 25 days. Since they do this as teams, the team is paid.
And when candidates visit villages, there’s another expectation.
Candidates are often expected to promise small projects funded from their own pocket.
A crematorium. A water plant. A temple renovation- could be anything
Around ₹15 lakh per village.
Multiply that across dozens of villages, and the numbers quickly run into crores.
Polling agents in both Telugu states are also paid significant amounts, around ₹20,000 in critical constituencies and ₹10,000 in less competitive ones.
Direct payments to voters follow a pattern as well. Voters may receive between ₹1,500 and ₹2,500 when the party is in opposition, and around ₹4,000 when it is the ruling party.
Kerala stands out as a relative exception.
Paying voters is not as widespread, and such instances are relatively rare. In some hilly areas where access is difficult, voters may be paid between ₹500 and ₹2,000.
Outside of these contexts, one of the more notable instances was during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, where around ₹3,500 was reportedly distributed to a section of voters.
Now other than all this, there is the rally expenditure.
Most times, people have to be brought to rallies. Transport, food and other small gifts have to be arranged- with or without money.
Then the flex boards, the events, the road shows.
Remember what I told you in the beginning about the Election Commission’s cap- Rs 40 lakh.
Now you can laugh at it.
For suggestions and feedbacks, write to lme@thenewsminute.com
Contribute to NL-TNM election fund: https://rzp.io/rzp/zTQadhQFFT
Follow the Let Me Explain channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbDIedz2phHLQZTyNj1W
Like Pooja’s LME? Support the show: https://rzp.io/rzp/support-lme
If you are watching from abroad, click this link: https://buy.stripe.com/28o01q9md0OPdtm8wR
Become a TNM subscriber- https://www.thenewsminute.com/subscription