Star Campaigners of Political Parties | 24 Apr 2024

Source: TH

A political party recently designated a prominent figure closely associated with a Chief Minister as a 'star campaigner' for its electoral activities in a different state.

  • Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RP Act) provides for law relating to expenditure incurred by ‘leaders of a political party’.
    • These ‘leaders of a political party’ are popularly known as ‘star campaigners’.
    • The only requirement is that these persons have to be members of the political party that appoints them.
  • The RP Act provides that a recognised political party (national or State) can appoint a maximum of 40 star campaigners while a registered unrecognised political party can appoint up to 20.
    • The names of the star campaigners are to be communicated to the Election Commission (EC) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the States as applicable within 7 days from the date of notification of such election.
  • The expenses for travel by them during campaigning are not counted towards a candidate's election expenditure limit.
    • However, this exemption applies only if the star campaigners engage in general campaigning for the party.
    • If they specifically campaign for candidates or share platforms with them, the expenses are attributed to the candidate's expenditure.

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