NIZAMABAD: While political bigwigs bite their nails ahead of counting day, several candidates contesting in the elections seem to have a bigger fish to fry: mounting campaign dues, to be specific.
Reportedly, one of the candidates from a major political party contesting in the district has frantically been looking for ways to clear his campaign dues, which has become double his initial budget. The district president of the political party in question said that the candidate was allotted an amount for all poll-related activities; however, his supporters spent additional amount borrowed from various sources on behalf of the candidate.
“We had advised the candidate not to take this contest too seriously. But his supporters took it up on themselves to organise extravagant poll meetings. The expenses have gone up and now the candidate is unable to repay it. The party will not take responsibility for this,” said one of the party leaders. He added that the candidate is now paying extra attention to his profession to increase his income. It was learnt that another candidate from the same party was caught in a similar fix.
Several independent candidates, who are not well-acquainted with major political parties, have also been facing difficulties in clearing their election dues. “Many Independents thought they could function under the shade of political bigwigs. They expected benefits,” said a political observer in the district.
Meanwhile, the district president of one of the national parties said the Assembly elections were dominated by crony capitalism. “Smaller parties and independent candidates were not provided with a level-playing field. It was hard for them to even show that they exist. In fact, their numbers will come over the next few years,” he added.
While political bigwigs bite their nails ahead of counting day, several candidates contesting in the elections seem to have a bigger fish to fry: mounting campaign dues, to be specific. Reportedly, one of the candidates from a major political party contesting in the district has frantically been looking for ways to clear his campaign dues, which has become double his initial budget. The district president of the political party in question said that the candidate was allotted an amount for all poll-related activities; however, his supporters spent additional amount borrowed from various sources on behalf of the candidate.
“We had advised the candidate not to take this contest too seriously. But his supporters took it up on themselves to organise extravagant poll meetings. The expenses have gone up and now the candidate is unable to repay it. The party will not take responsibility for this,” said one of the party leaders. He added that the candidate is now paying extra attention to his profession to increase his income.
It was learnt that another candidate from the same party was caught in a similar fix. Several independent candidates, who are not well-acquainted with major political parties, have also been facing difficulties in clearing their election dues. “Many Independents thought they could function under the shade of political bigwigs.
They expected benefits,” said a political observer in the district.Meanwhile, the district president of one of the national parties said the Assembly elections were dominated by crony capitalism. “Smaller parties and independent candidates were not provided with a level-playing field. It was hard for them to even show that they exist. In fact, their numbers will come over the next few years,” he added.