Star Campaigners of Political Parties | 24 Apr 2024
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.