NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian politicians are expected to spend around $5 billion (2 billion pounds) on campaigning for elections next month - a sum second only to the most expensive U.S. presidential campaign of all time - in a splurge that could give India's floundering economy a temporary boost.
India's campaign spend, which can include cash stuffed in envelopes as well as multi-million-dollar ad campaigns, has been estimated at 300 billion rupees (2.9 billion pounds) by the Centre for Media Studies, which tracks spending.