The hundreds of crores of rupees the big parties are able to spend on advertisements, chartering private aircraft and helicopters, and other big-ticket items during elections do not attract the expenditure limits set for candidates. By denying the smaller parties a level playing field, this major flaw in the election law detracts seriously from the democratic character of Indian elections. The Election Commission has been criticized from the Left for its class bias: failing to check the power of big money in the electoral process, it concentrates on targeting ‘small donations in cash
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