Why Are Elections So Costly in India?

India is a populous country. With so many states having so many people, and all of them having the right to vote, it gets difficult to conduct elections. A task this big requires tons of money. The money used in conducting elections is made for use in tasks like campaign events and more. Therefore, it is safe to say that elections in India are one of the most expensive elections.
According to many, while elections in India have always been costly, changing times are aggravating the matter, making the process even more expensive. Many also wonder that the huge costs involved in elections may also include practices like vote-buying. However, nothing can be said if there isn't any robust proof.

Money during elections 

Many speculate that it is the bribes that are given by politicians to win votes that make elections in India costly. However, it is not safe to assume this deduction. One, because such a conclusion lacks proof, and second, there are many more areas wherein the money used in elections is used other than bribes. 

For instance, in the general elections and the state assembly polls of the year 2014, Congress and BJP spent a lot of money. The Congress Party spent over Rs 516 crores while the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) spent about Rs 714 crores. As per the data of the year 2015 gathered by the Election Commission, the spending of these two parties exceeded that of others, wherein the BSP spent Rs 30 crores while the NCP spent about 51 crores. 

This incident led the Election Commission to bring about a show cause notice. Moreover, it can be said that the reported expenses during elections are nothing but a tiny fraction of the total amount actually spent. The reported amount is actually 1/30th of the actual amount spent. 

Are there any hidden expenses too? 

Well, yes. The hidden expenses during elections may include the costs of gifts given to local influencers and voters. This comes under the ambit of bribing. 

Other factors

There definitely exist factors other than bribing that make the election process in India costly. One of them is that the country's enormous democracy can sometimes lead to a challenge, making elections expensive. Gift-giving, as said before, is also a contributor to expensive elections. The third factor that leads to expensive elections is fancy rallying by the politicians to gain all eyeballs towards them.