HYDERABAD: The coming elections are expected to be an unprecedented high-stakes showdown, with two major parties going all-out for victory. While one of these two parties is keen on a historic third consecutive term in power, the other seeks redemption after suffering crushing defeats in the past two elections. For both parties, the coming contest is a do-or-die battle, and they are expected to spare no expense in pursuit of victory.
Political analysts, who have been closely monitoring the spending trends in recent polls, say that since 2018, both parties collectively poured thousands of crores into elections, including several byelections. Over the past five years, the State has witnessed five high-stakes byelections in which leaders and parties spent approximately Rs 100 crore each. Considering the battle ahead is for forming the government in the State, the money expected to be pumped in by both parties will be nothing short of staggering.
Sources in both parties revealed that during the 2018 elections, an average of Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore was spent in each Assembly segment. Some segments witnessed spending that was as high as Rs 50 crore to Rs 70 crore. Telangana has 88 general constituencies while 31 segments are reserved for SC/ST candidates. Reserved segments generally see lower expenditure compared to general ones.
During the 2018 elections, one party spent a minimum of Rs 20 crore and a maximum of Rs 70 crore per general Assembly segment. Extrapolating these figures to all 88 segments, this comes to a mammoth Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore for one party alone. On the other hand, the other main party in the fray spent a minimum of Rs 10 crore and a maximum of Rs 15 crore in all general segments, or an average of Rs 12 crore per Assembly segment. This translates to a total expenditure ranging from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,200 crore, a substantial amount in its own right.
As the 2023 elections draw near, both parties are prepared to exceed their previous spending records. Sources in these parties say that one of the two main parties had already disbursed Rs 30 crore per constituency two months before the election schedule was announced and is set to allocate an additional Rs 20 crore based on feedback and survey reports during the ongoing campaign.
This could lead to an average expenditure of Rs 50 crore per segment, with special cases involving key opposition leaders potentially seeing expenses of Rs 70 crore to Rs 100 crore in a select few segments. This means the party could end up spending an unprecedented Rs 2,800 crore to Rs 3,200 crore in the coming Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, another party plans to allocate Rs 10 crore to each general constituency, with additional sums of Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore for select seats under special circumstances. This could result in a total expenditure ranging from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 1,500 crore. This means that the combined spending by only two of the parties in the fray in Telangana alone could reach an astonishing Rs 4,500 crore.
This spending is primarily directed toward candidates aiming to secure their respective segments. Additionally, candidates themselves are expected to set aside a minimum of Rs 5 crore as a safety net in case of any unforeseen challenges during campaigning. This means that the candidates of both the main parties will be setting aside an estimated Rs 380 crore to Rs 450 crore in the 88 general segments.
Meanwhile, another party harbouring the ambition of capturing power in the State has indicated its readiness to allocate at least Rs 10 crore for 50 to 60 Assembly segments. Leaders of this party are reportedly prepared to invest Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore each in their respective segments. This could result in an average expenditure of Rs 500 crore to Rs 600 crore. Even smaller parties are reportedly not shying away from pumping in money for the upcoming elections.