Cash-strapped Congress goes crowdfunding for Karnataka candidate

Aditi Tandon 

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 9

In a first, the Congress on Wednesday went crowdfunding for its Molakalmuru Assembly segment candidate in Karnataka and raised Rs 6.62 lakh of the Rs 28 lakh target in a matter of hours.

Appealing for donations in the name of ‘dirty politics versus clean politics’, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter, saying, “It’s a clear fight in Karnataka. Clean Politics versus Dirty Politics, mafia versus people. With the BJP fielding the corrupt Reddy gang, we are trying a novel approach to fund our candidate. Support our candidate by making a contribution.”

Low-cash Congress has long complained of dearth of money to fight “the well-oiled BJP poll machinery”. Party sources said if crowdfunding experiment met with reasonable success in Karnataka, the Congress might consider expanding it. It’s a method Barack Obama employed to revolutionise his campaign funding in the 2008 US Presidential election. 

The results stunned Obama opponents. While it’s unclear if Gandhi can repeat the Obama magic, the Congress is trying its best to help.

Below Gandhi’s Twitter message for crowdfunding on Wednesday, the Congress posted its institutional appeal for funds favouring Dr Yogesh Babu, a PhD, it has fielded against the BJP’s sitting MP B Sreeramulu from the Molakalmuru assembly constituency.

Sreeramulu is famous for his proximity to the powerful Reddy brothers of Karnataka and the Congress is using this proximity to evoke voter attention.

“You decide: Dirty politics versus Clean politics. We’ve all heard of the infamous Reddy brothers from Karnataka. As part of the mining mafia they cost the Karnataka state Rs 35,000 crore. Thankfully, the UPA government managed to crack down on the corrupt Reddy brothers and threw them in jail for the colossal damage they caused to the state. Now, B Sreeramulu, a close confidant of these Reddy brothers, has been awarded a BJP ticket to contest the upcoming elections. Slapped with cases of bribery, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, rioting amongst other criminal charges, the ‘mining mafia’ seeks an entry into Karnataka politics,” the Congress says in its appeal.

It introduces 33-year-old Yogesh Babu as someone “willing to challenge the mafia” and adds: “A self-made man, Babu hails from Molakalmuru where he actively took part in grassroots politics and is deeply admired by his people for his sincerity and clean politics. Here is your chance to change the narrative of Indian politics. If you think clean politics must triumph over corrupt politics, join us and be part of this vision. Contribute now.”

In four hours of Gandhi’s appeal, 259 donors had paid the Congress Rs 6,82,466 of the Rs 28 lakh the party targeted. With two more days to go, the Congress has appealed to people to keep the money flowing.