As the BJP wallows in wealth, the Congress is crying for cash. The crisis is so deep that the 138-year-old party has appealed for a contribution of Rs 138 from each adult citizen, no problem if some of them generously add a zero or two to the figure.
Realising how critical a role money will play in the 2024 general election, the Congress on Saturday entreated all Indians “who support democracy in India and our ideology” to donate to the party.
The Congress has consciously invoked symbols of nationalism by naming the campaign “Donate for Desh” and recalling how Mahatma Gandhi had collected money from the people to sustain the freedom movement.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will launch the online instruments for the donations on December 18 while the ground campaign will start on December 28, the party’s foundation day.
Party general secretary K.C. Venugopal and treasurer Ajay Maken announced the plan, saying that two channels had been created for the online crowdfunding campaign: the dedicated online portal donateinc.in and the official party website, www.inc.in.
Describing it as a “big initiative”, Venugopal said: “Donate for Desh is a crowdfunding campaign inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s historic Tilak Swaraj Fund in 1920-1921. Our inaugural campaign, Donate for Behtar Bharat, commemorates the 138-year journey of the Indian National Congress.”
He added: “We invite supporters to donate multiples of Rs 138, Rs 1,380, Rs 13,800 or more. The donation links will go live after the formal launch on December 18.
“We call upon all the PCC chiefs (state unit heads) to raise awareness through press conferences and digital campaigns. The campaign will primarily be online until December 28, the foundation day, after which we will initiate ground campaigns, including a door-to-door campaign.
“Congress workers will go door to door, seeking at least Rs 138 from each house. We encourage our state-level office-bearers, our elected representatives, frontal organisations’ office-bearers, district presidents, state presidents and all AICC office-bearers to contribute at least Rs 1,380.”
The state unit presidents have been asked to identify potential donors who can pay larger amounts.
“We will ask for the name and phone number for verification, and all Indians above the age of 18 can contribute. Credit card, debit card, UPI, NEFT, RTGS and QR code scan payment modes will be available,” Maken said.
“The Congress will issue an acknowledgment and a certificate signed by the party president. All those who support democracy in India and our ideology must come forward to help.”
The Congress and other Opposition parties have been labouring under a resource crunch during Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister. While the introduction of the opaque electoral bond scheme has benefited the ruling party, the creation of a hostile political atmosphere has discouraged corporate houses from helping the BJP’s rivals.
In 2019, electoral bonds worth Rs 3,355 crore were sold. While the BJP reportedly received Rs 2,555 crore — or 76 per cent of this sum — the Congress received only Rs 318 crore. The rest was distributed among the smaller parties.
