Poll, Paisa, Politics: With Cash Flow Worth Crores, It’s No Longer an Aam Aadmi’s Election

With only a few days left for the 17th Lok Sabha elections, thousands of candidates — representing almost 1,866 political parties — will ask for votes from an estimated 900 million people.

To understand the enormity of this democratic exercise — the largest ever in the world — sample this: India’s eligible voters are almost three times the population of the United States, world’s oldest democracy. But there is a huge cost involved with this five-yearly dance of democracy. The money spent is both accountable and un-accountable. Black and white. Legal and illegal.