流利阅读 2019.4.1 Why India’s election is among the world’s most expensive
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Why India’s election is among the world’s most expensive
印度大选何以成为全球最昂贵的选举之一
India will soon hold what’s likely to be one of the world’s costliest elections. The polling exercise will cost an unprecedented 500 billion rupees ($7 billion), according to the New Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies.
印度即将进行大选，该大选可能会是全球最昂贵的选举之一。根据位于新德里的媒体研究中心的说法，此次选举活动将耗资 5000 亿卢比（70 亿美元），堪称史无前例。
Specific data can be hard to pin down, but costs are rising in general as constituency sizes increase and more candidates join the fray, said Simon Chauchard, a Columbia University lecturer who has followed elections in India.
哥伦比亚大学的讲师西蒙·乔查德一直密切关注着印度的选举运动。他说，详细的数据可能难以确认，但是随着选区规模扩大和越来越多候选人加入竞选，选举费用在整体上升。
“It’s a bunch of panicky candidates throwing money around to voters but also to vendors selling all kinds of stuff useful in a political campaign,” Chauchard said.
乔查德说：“这群诚惶诚恐的候选人不仅在选民身上砸钱，还斥资向商贩们购买各种有益于政治运动的物品。”
Here’s a look at where some of the money goes:
来看看这些钱的部分去向吧：
Can goats help win votes?
山羊能帮忙赢得选票吗？
Most federal-level Indian politicians said their peers feel pressured to hand out gifts like cash and alcohol. Blenders, television sets and occasionally even goats are handed out as gifts in some areas.
据印度大部分联邦级别的政界人士说，他们的同僚们迫于压力，不得不发放现金、酒等礼品。在一些地区，搅拌机、电视机，有时甚至连山羊也会作为礼物送出。
Rallying the troops with chicken curry
用咖喱鸡集结“部队”
Indian politicians love a good rally: They crisscross the country, corralling locals into large tents where they’re bombarded with campaign rhetoric. To attract a crowd, some politicians may need to offer a box of food filled with chicken curry that can be too expensive for average citizens.
印度政客们喜欢大集会：他们在全国各地奔走，将当地民众召集到大帐篷里，向他们大肆进行竞选宣传。为了吸引民众，有些政客可能需要提供装满咖喱鸡的盒饭。对普通民众来说，咖喱鸡这种食物是非常昂贵的。
Dummy candidates
虚假候选人
India’s Election Commission has long warned about dummy candidates: nominating someone with the same name to confuse voters and split the vote. But even fielding dummy candidates can cost as much as 120 million rupees.
长期以来，印度的选举委员会一直告诫（群众）要提防虚假候选人：提名虚假候选人，是指提名和选举领先者同名的人，以迷惑选民、分散选票。然而，光是让虚假候选人参选，就可能要花费高达 1.2 亿卢比的费用。
Brand building: Make India Great Again swag
品牌塑造：“让印度再次伟大”的周边商品
As much as 26 billion rupees will be spent on advertising in the upcoming elections. In February alone, more than 40 million rupees was spent on political advertising on just one site—Facebook. Then there are T-shirts with the slogan “Namo Again” (Narendra Modi Again) peddled by his camp.
在即将到来的选举中，高达 260 亿卢比的经费将被用于广告宣传。仅 2 月份，就有超过 4000 万卢比被用在 Facebook 这一个网站上做政治宣传。此外，（印度总理）纳伦德拉·莫迪的阵营还在兜售带有“Namo Again”（莫迪连任）口号的 T 恤衫。