To be launched on 2 October, the programme aims to raise the entire amount through booth-level contributions.
New Delhi: The Congress is all set to launch ‘Mission Rs 500 crore’ as it faces a fund crisis ahead of crucial year-end assembly polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The fundraising programme, which aims to raise the entire amount through booth-level contributions, will be launched on 2 October and will go on till 19 November.
Newly-appointed party treasurer Ahmed Patel has asked all state units to launch the funding programme at all booths and to collect a minimum of Rs 5,000 from every booth.
All the frontal units of the Congress, such as Indian Youth Congress, Mahila Congress and others, will also carry out the drive.
“The frontal organisations will also get a share in the collected money for their own functioning,” said a state-based Youth Congress leader who did not wish to be named.
It’s the first such Congress drive since Patel took charge in August. He has been meeting state presidents and senior Congress leaders for the past few days to devise a funding strategy.
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After completion of the mission, the Congress plans to start another fundraising drive, sources told ThePrint.
Funding crunch
In the crucial election year, the party is struggling with funds, ThePrint reported earlier. An internal party report, presented to Congress president Rahul Gandhi in May, suggested that it needs Rs 1,000 crore to kickstart its campaign for the upcoming elections.
In May, the party appealed to people to contribute to party funds — ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 10,000 — through social media.
On Saturday, Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot separately launched a crowdfunding initiative for the state unit on social media.
I appeal to the people of Rajasthan to support the crowd funding initiative of @INCIndia for upcoming Rajasthan Elections to usher in an era of clean and transparent funding.
To contribute click on the link below:https://t.co/xGWbXlGNvF#CleanPolitics
— Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) September 15, 2018
The appeal said Pilot strongly felt that electoral participation cannot just be limited to voting once every five years, instead it requires a deeper ideological, political and financial contribution by concerned citizens.
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“If a few thousand citizens could join hands and support this campaign, Sachin Pilot and his team will have enough funds to take on the corrupt BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) regime in Rajasthan. They will use these funds to reach the last person and take their concerns on board, unlike the BJP that just believes in spending crores of rupees to manipulate public opinion and to make false promises,” said the Rajasthan Congress appeal.
Haathi mara bhi sava lakh ka … The party seems to have ruled India for fifty five years in a spirit of altruism.