Paucity of funds hits Congmen
Elections are an expensive “business” these days for candidates who often have to spend money from their own pockets for campaigning.
In the upcoming Assembly elections in Telangana state, Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Bharatiya Janata Party candidates don’t have to worry about funding.
The TRS is in power in Telangana and the BJP is in power at the Centre and in about 20 states. But the once cash flush Congress is not in power in any major state and its candidates will not be getting funds from the central leadership as they used to and will have to fend for themselves.
According to sources in the TRS, the party will fund its own candidates except for those who are rich. Sources also said that the party has already distributed some funds to candidates. When candidates showed some anxiety about the funding, a TRS leader close to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao told them to “concentrate on the campaign, the party will take care of the funds”.
BJP candidates are also likely to get funds from the party.
Elections are an expensive “business” these days for candidates who often have to spend money from their own pockets for campaigning.
According to sources in the BJP, the party has identified 30-40 strong constituencies and more funds will be provided to candidates contesting from these constituencies. The chairman of the BJP’s Telangana manifesto committee, N.V.V.S. Prabhakar, said that they will contest in all 119 assembly constituencies and are concentrating on all constituencies.
The Congress has high hopes of coming to power in the state but its money power is vastly reduced. The Telangana Pradesh Committee had provided some funds for the recent Karnataka assembly elections and a senior TPCC leader said, “We are expecting the Karnataka Congress to reciprocate in providing funds.”
There is a culture in the Congress of providing funds to candidates contesting from reserved assembly constituencies. The TPCC leader said that some funds may be provided to SC and ST candidates this time too.