Bansal Tops Poll Expenditure Chart

Chandigarh, Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal has topped the chart of expenditure incurred on the election campaign in the city for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. According to the records submitted by the Congress, Bansal spent Rs 26.65 lakh on the campaign.Of the 17 candidates in the fray, 14 candidates have declared their expenditure on the campaign.Aam Aadmi Party candidate Gulkirat Kaur Panag has spent Rs 18.86 lakh in the campaign, including the road show that cost her Rs 50,000 only. BJP candidate Kirron Kher spent Rs 18.64 lakh on the, including Rs 4 lakh spent on BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s rally in Chandigarh.The national parties have spent a major part of the money on printing election-related material, including pamphlets and banners. A large amount has also been spent on petrol and hiring vehicles.Independent candidates managed their campaign by spending less than Rs 1 lakh.Deepak Shukla, an Independent candidate who preferred to walk across the city to woo the voters, spent only Rs 6,650 on the campaign apart from Rs 25,000 as security for contesting the poll.Similarly, Dharmender Singh, contesting from the Bahujan Mukti Party, spent Rs 14,979 on the campaign, besides the security amount.