Based on the first inspection of the expenditure of parties, SAD’s candidate is currently in the lead in all three constituencies of the district. Dera Bassi constituency has also seen the highest expenditure from all parties, collectively around Rs 56 lakh so far. Mohali is a close second with total spending of around Rs 55 lakh, followed by Kharar with total spending of around Rs 26 lakh.
The expenditure count is not final as two more inspections shall be conducted by the administration. According to the officials during the first inspection of expenditure in Derabassi, SAD’s NK Sharma spent around Rs 17 lakh till February 7, followed by AAP’s Kuljeet Singh Randhawa who spent around Rs 16 lakh. Congress’s Deepinder Singh Dhillon has spent around Rs 9 lakh so far.
In Mohali, Congress’s Balbir Singh Sidhu leads in expenditure, with Rs 15 lakh spent by the candidate so far. SAD’s Parvinder Singh Sohana comes second with around Rs 9 lakh spent so far. AAP’s Kulwant Singh has spent around Rs 7 lakh while BJP‘s Sanjeev Vashisht has spent around Rs 6 lakh.
SAD’s Ranjit Gill leads in Kharar, with spending of around Rs 8 lakh, followed by AAP’s Anmol Gagan Mann who has spent around Rs 5 lakh and Congress’s Vijay Sharma Tinku who has spent around Rs 4.5 lakh.
A total of 40 candidates are in the fray in a multi-cornered contest in the three constituencies with 17 contesting in the Kharar constituency, 14 in Dera Bassi, and nine in Mohali.
More than Rs 1 crore has been spent in all three constituencies. A candidate can spend a maximum of Rs. 40 lakh. According to officials, campaign spending includes advertisements and posters put up by contesting candidates. Two more inspections to assess the expenditure by the candidates remain.
,