Budget 2019: Law Ministry gets additional Rs 666.66 crore for conducting Lok Sabha polls

New Delhi: The Law Ministry has been allocated an additional sum of over Rs 666 crore for conducting Lok Sabha elections due this summer. According to Vote on Account 2019-2020, an additional provision has been made for the Law Ministry of Rs 666.66 crore (voted) in revenue section for conducting the polls. The Law Ministry is the administrative ministry for the Election Commission. Certain funds are also allocated to the Home Ministry for elections which are largely used for transportation and logistics related to security personnel. Some of the amount spent by the Home Ministry is later reimbursed by the Law Ministry. [caption id=“attachment_4871731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Separately, the Election Commission has been allocated an additional Rs 12.14 crore (voted) in revenue section and Rs 16.67 crore (voted) in the capital section for voters’ awareness campaign under and for the acquisition of land from DDA for construction of office building. The Lok Sabha elections are a mega exercise involving thousands of polling personnel and security forces. The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3 and the next House to be formed before that. There is a possibility that the EC may go by precedent and hold assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh along with the Lok Sabha polls. Since the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was prematurely dissolved, the EC is bound to hold fresh polls there within six months. It was dissolved in November 2018 and the upper limit ends in May. The poll panel may hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir along with the Lok Sabha polls as well. But it can be held before that also as much depends on the security situation there. While the term of the Sikkim Assembly ends on 27 May, the terms of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh assemblies end on 18 June, 11 June and 1 June respectively. In 2004, the Election Commission had announced four-phase Lok Sabha polls on 29 February. While the first date of the poll was 20 April, the last date was 10 May In 2009, the EC had announced Lok Sabha poll scheduled on 2 March. The five-phase polls began on 16 April and ended on 13 May. In 2014, the EC had announced the election schedule on 5 March and the nine-phase electoral exercise was spread across April and May. While the first phase polling was on 7 April, the last phase was on 12 May.