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No Cash In ‘Hand’: Rahul Gandhi-Led Congress Facing Financial Crunch, Forced To Crowd-Fund Campaigns
Rahul Gandhi with other senior Congress leaders. (Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
India’s grand old party has been drastically cutting down on expenses since the last five months, almost the time since Rahul Gandhi took over the party’s top post, as reported by Bloomberg.
The party’s headquarter has also reportedly stopped releasing funds to state party committees and has asked its officials to cut expenses while asking for members to contribute to the party instead.
The new method for political funding - electoral bonds - isn’t reaping any significant dividends for the party, with the Congress’ social media head, Divya Spandana reportedly admitting to the financial crunch.
“We don’t have money”, Spandana said, as the party was forced to launch on online crowd-funding for one of its candidates.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Sujrewala declined to comment on the development.
In the financial year ending March 2017, the Congress had managed to earn only a fourth of the money raised by the BJP, which raised close to Rs 1050 crore in the period. The Congress’ funding fell by 14 per cent year-on-year while the BJP’s increased by 81 per cent.
The Congress campaign in the North East during the recent state polls in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya also reportedly suffered from the lack of funding. Even meagre expenses like tea allowances for guests at party conferences are being cut down.
Seen as less business-friendly that the BJP, one of the main reasons for the Congress funds drying up is the drastic fall in corporate contributions with big businesses having steadily abandoned the party.
The crunch is also reportedly apparent in New Delhi, where the BJP just moved into a swanky new headquarters while the Congress building still lies under construction due to lack of funds.
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