Thiruvananthapuram – The Kerala unit of the Congress party has revealed that the fund crunches in the national unit of the party have affected the grand old party in Kerala where it is facing acute financial issues. The Congress leadership in Kerala is mulling alternatives, including crowdfunding, to raise money to manage its campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls in the state.
“We have been forced to go for crowdfunding as we are facing a dearth of funds in the state. The BJP is into vendetta politics trying to destroy the opposition parties through all means of power”, said senior Congress leader VD Satheeshan to the media.
Interestingly, a few young Congress leaders who are in the electoral fray have begun crowdfunding without waiting for an official word from the state unit. Veteran candidates are expected to follow suit to sustain electioneering for the general elections spread across 42 days.
Shafi Parambil, the UDF candidate in Vadakara, took a break from campaigning and flew to Dubai, Sharjah and Doha to meet Keralites.
“The state unit is facing difficulties as far as financial support is concerned as our bank accounts are being withheld by the central agencies and now that every constituency is facing the issue. We are now planning to reach out to NRIs and businessmen who are ready to shell out money for the party, especially party sympathisers is what we are looking into”, said a party leader based in Ernakulam to The New Indian.
“The trend favours Congress this time, as people have realised BJP is playing vendetta politics and that people have already started showing sympathy to their candidates making fund mobilisation easier. “We are looking for funds from the country and those outside who are willing to donate for the party which can assure them a strong nation with secular and democratic values intact”, said BRP Basheer, a congress leader based in Kollam.
Many Congress leaders who were candidates in the 2021 state assembly polls have agreed that they have resorted to crowdfunding towards the fag end of the campaigning as they have a dearth of funds.