'MPs spent more near elections but this had little impact on poll result'

Members of Parliament (MPs) elected in 2009 spent less funds from the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) at the beginning of their term, gradually increasing spending each year, with most spending in the last year before the 2014 general elections, according to a study by Harry Blair, a senior research scholar at Yale University, published in the Economic and Political Weekly in August 2017.

The MPLADS fund provided Rs 2 crore every year to each MP between 2009 and 2011, and Rs 5 crore between 2011 and 2014. Any money unspent during the