BENGALURU: Murmurs in the Congress are getting louder by the day about an acute resource crunch facing the party’s 15 candidates. Sources in the party complained about the dearth of the all-important ‘resource’, and that candidates are looking to the party for help.
It is no secret that the slog overs are the most expensive, and funds can make or mar an election. But it is said that top Congress leaders have responded with complete helplessness.
Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar have tried to turn their adversity into an opportunity, by openly asking their supporters to “take their (BJP) money and give us (Congress) the votes”.
Party leaders have also expressed concern that they could lag in the race due to this factor. Senior leader and Maharashtra in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge spoke about the BJP’s “formidable resources”, while JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda too complained about the BJP’s “resource might”. Analysts say that electoral bonds have made the BJP a “super-rich” party.
One candidate who felt outmanoeuvred by the saffron party’s deep pockets is Hunsur candidate HP Manjunath, who was elected MLA twice earlier and is pitted against disqualified MLA A H Vishwanath. He complained that Vishwanath was spending phenomenal amounts which the Congress was unable to match. He alleged that a gram panchayat member received Rs 5 lakh and booth level leaders got Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 each.
Political analyst BS Murthy said, “Candidates were promised all election expenses by the party, and a few are highly resourceful themselves. But I’ve heard of a few opposition party candidates running out of funds. Post Maharashtra, BJP is taking no chances and going all out to ensure that all expenses are met.’’
Said brand guru and analyst Harish Bijoor, “The resource crunch in the Congress is no secret. But this is how it always is, those in the opposition have less money. They need to focus on attracting votes instead. Without the lure and allure of money!’’
Sources said that the last two-three days of the campaign are vital. “Vitamin M is distributed street to street, house to house, secretly. All parties do it and a candidate does not like to lose out on this last-gasp push for votes,” said one source.