An internal party document shows Congress needs Rs 1,000 crore in the next four months for election campaigns in the year-end state polls. As of 2017, the party’s donations are Rs 225 crore.
New Delhi: The Congress has resorted to crowd-funding to overcome its resource crunch ahead of the November-December assembly elections in four states and appealed to the citizens to donate to the party on social media.
On 24 May, the Congress posted an appeal to the citizens on its official twitter handle and urged them to make small contributions “to restore democracy”.
The Congress needs your support and help. Help us restore the democracy which India has proudly embraced since 70 years by making a small contribution here: https://t.co/PElu5R0mR6 #IContributeForIndia pic.twitter.com/XQ75Iaf7A6
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 24, 2018
Embedded in the tweet is a link to the Congress official website, where donations in various denominations ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 10,000 can be made.
The appeal comes in the wake of an internal report, presented to Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the beginning of May, which highlighted that the party requires Rs 1,000 crore in the next four months to plan for election campaigns in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram along with regular expenses.
The first signs of the problem came during the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections, where the party faced difficulty matching the BJP’s campaign and money power. In both states, Congress candidates were asked to spend their own money during elections.
Corporate help no more
The party usually relied on donations from large corporate houses but that has declined severely post 2014. As per reports by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), the Congress received Rs 225 crore as donations in 2017 as compared to the Rs 1,034 crore received by the BJP. The ADR data also shows that the Congress received corporate donations of Rs 198.16 crore between 2012 and 2016 as compared to the Rs 705.81 crore that the BJP got in the same period.
Some Congress leaders feel that Gandhi’s constant targeting of industrialists has also discouraged them from donating to the party.
“Earlier, one phone call was enough… some business houses would easily donate anything between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore,” said a Mumbai-based senior Congress leader. “Now, after several calls they send a cheque of Rs 1 to Rs 2 lakh.”
Aam aadmi to the rescue
The Congress is in government in only one large state, Punjab, and so has very limited options to generate funds. Corporate houses are generally reluctant to open their purse strings to parties in opposition.
Faced with dwindling funds, the party has decided to make use of social media and accept donations from the common man.
The formula has been tried by the Aam Aadmi Party. The party has held several fund-raising dinners in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow, while it also has run social media campaigns such as the #IFundHonestParty challenge and the #SelfieWithMufflerMan to raise money.
Congress troubles
There are several state units that have not received any funds from the central unit for the past few months and are finding it increasingly difficult to manage daily expenses.
Those in charge of these distressed state units keep doing the rounds of party treasurer Motilal Vora’s office with a hope of mobilising funds but usually return empty handed.
In April, Vora asked all party MPs and MLAs to donate a month’s salary towards funds. In addition, he asked party officials to cut down on travel and other expenses. His suggestions included travelling by train for overnight journeys instead of taking flights, reducing the office expenses on tea and snacks etc. The social appeal is first such method tried by the Congress. Going forward the party plans to organise fund-raising meetings with business houses. However, a decision on this is yet to be taken.