Cash Crunch for Defected Minister’s Election Funds

An old associate of one of the present top ministers in the ruling Maharashtra government is worried. He says the minister is at his wit’s end on ways and means to secure funding for the upcoming elections and has been running from pillar to post.

He claims most of the minister’s previous donors have backed out this time while blaming the minister’s ex-political boss and party leader. The minister’s earlier boss was a successful fundraiser and would often extend a generous amount of money during elections to the minister. However, since the minister defected to another party along with his MLAs, he is struggling to raise funds from sources outside his former constituency.

Although no longer in power, his boss remains a force to be reckoned with in India’s political landscape. He has instructed everyone in business and trade circles to halt all funding to the MLAs who defected with the minister. “We have no voter base in Mumbai, but in rural areas, we can win if we pool in the proper amount of money. Unfortunately, we aren’t receiving any funds, which is the biggest concern,” says the associate, adding that elections in rural areas are costlier than in cities, mainly due to transport issues. Contesting an MLA seat in rural Konkan, for example, can cost no less than ten crores!

According to whispers in closed political circles, a ‘fatwa’ of sorts was issued to stop all funding to every single defected MLA in the upcoming state elections. The diktat of ‘Not in Cash and definitely Not in Kind’ has been made known to every donor who may have donated to every MLA belonging to the Maha Vikas Aghadi at one point in time.

For any political party to function smoothly or for any candidate to win an election, the availability of resources like funds and manpower remains an all-important factor. The need is even more crucial during election periods. More than manpower, funds top the list of priorities, and while there are funds available everywhere, routing these funds to the winning candidate is an art in itself.

A party flush with funds can not only successfully manoeuvre itself through difficult situations but can also take care of its workers well and survive in the long run. While seeking donations during rallies or through relief funds are some ways funding is sought, many untraditional fundraising methods have faced criticism over the years. Although the most common ways to raise funds are through individuals, the public, and corporations, unions are a key funding source for political parties. A party that controls more unions not only influences the people within them but also gains access to the funds they generate.

For example, the communist party that ruled Mumbai in the late sixties and seventies declined only after its unions, largely of mill workers, were decimated following the mill worker’s strike. The strike, which continues to exist on paper even today, led to a large number of workers shifting their affiliations to other newly formed political parties then, such as the Shiv Sena, led by its founder, the late Hon. Shri Balasaheb Thackeray. In fact, over the years, political parties, to attract funding from all avenues, have taken to forming ‘cells’ within their party. For example, while an IT cell is set up to attract those from the IT sector, similarly, the corporate cell targets corporate membership and funding. Regional cells concentrate on attracting funding from states (e.g., BJP’s Bihar cell attracts entrepreneurs and workers from Bihar).

Interestingly, appointments to key party positions are often influenced not only by the candidate’s caste but also by their ability to generate funds for the party. For instance, a certain national political party is always known to appoint its party presidents who belong to the business community so they can get access to easy and quick funding whenever needed, especially during elections.

All said and done, it will surely be interesting to see what steps this minister will take now that his routine set of funding has taken a backseat. Will he go back to his political boss and ask for forgiveness? Or will he just continue to knock on more new doors? Only time will tell.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)