India Votes

Image: Getty Images

A woman casts her vote at a polling booth in Jaula village in UP’s Muzaffarnagar district during the third phase of the general elections on April 10. The electoral battle for the 16th Lok Sabha, which kicked off on April 7, will wind its way around the country in nine phases, and counting will take place on May 16

Rs. 300,000,000,000 is the amount likely to be spent by the government, political parties and candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, according to the Centre for Media Studies. The projected expenditure makes the world’s largest exercise in democracy one of its most expensive as well, second only to $7 billion (about Rs 42,000 crore) spent for the US presidential elections in 2012.