Adhere to max expenditure of Rs 28 lakh in HP polls: CEO to

Chief electoral officer of Himachal Pradesh today directed political parties to adhere to the maximum expenditure limit of Rs 28 lakh in the upcoming state Assembly polls and make all payments above Rs 20,000 through Account Payee cheque.
CEO Pushpender Rajput, who convened a meeting of political party representatives here, said every contesting candidate will have to open separate bank accounts for election expenditure, adding that a candidate and his/her election agent can open a joint account.
This expenditure includes public meetings and rallies, posters, banners, vehicles and advertisements in print and electronic media, he said.
Rajput said permission must be obtained from Returning Officer (RO) with respect to vehicles used during electioneering.

He said every political party would have to maintain a register of election expenditure and submit the same to Expenditure Observer for inspection, at least three times during the campaign period.
The representatives of the Congress, BJP, CPI and CPI(M) were present in the meeting.
Voting for the 68-seat Himachal Pradesh Assembly will take place on November 9 and the results will be declared on December 18.