'Donate for Desh': Why is Congress raising funds through crowdfunding?

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday launched the party’s crowdfunding campaign ‘Donate for Desh’, asking people to join the fight against unemployment and rising costs. Kharge donated a sum of Rs 1,38,000 from his salary to launch the “Donate for Desh” campaign in the presence of party leaders and general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh and treasurer Ajay Maken. “It is a very happy day that our party leaders have prepared an app. I feel this is the first time that the Congress is seeking the help of common people to build the country,” he told reporters after the launch. As part of the campaign, the party will receive money from small donors, he said and added, “If you keep working by depending on the rich, then tomorrow we would have to agree to their programmes and policies”. Kharge said the Congress is already working for the interests of the poor, Scheduled Castes, backwards and they have been helping us in the past too. “Through ‘Donate for Desh’, we will work to take the country forward by taking help from general public. The Congress always got help from general public. Mahatma Gandhi also got Independence for the country with the help of people of the country,” he said. People will in one or two days voluntarily come forward and donate, he said. “We will collect donation from common people and join them in this fight. We can assure people that there is only one party which is fighting for the poor,” he said. In a post on X, the Congress said, “Beyond a campaign, it’s a commitment to champion the rights of marginalised communities, bridge disparities, and stand as a formidable Opposition against a government favouring the affluent”. “Join us in the fight against unprecedented unemployment and rising costs. Stand with the Indian National Congress as it strides beyond its 138th year, stronger and more determined than ever. Be a Changemaker, Contribute,” the party said. Maken said anyone can contribute to the party by giving a donation of Rs 138, 1,380 or 1,38,000, marking the completion of 138 years of the Indian National Congress. How much money does Congress have? The Congress is cash-strapped and struggling to counter “the well-oiled BJP poll machinery”. According to the PTI sources, the BJP is garnering a majority of electoral bonds as the scheme is designed to favour the ruling party. According to many media reports, the BJP is the richest in the country, while the Congress is nowhere near. In the recently concluded Assembly elections, the saffron party got the most funds through electoral bonds. [caption id=“attachment_13516192” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] In 2019, the Congress began a similar ‘outreach-cum-crowdfunding’ effort to support its Lok Sabha elections, with its volunteers targeting approximately 10 lakh booths across the country. PTI[/caption] According to the Election Commission’s January 2023 report, the BJP’s income during the fiscal year 2021-22 (April 2021-March 2022) was Rs 1,917.12 crore, the most among the seven national parties. Following the BJP, other wealthy parties include Mamta Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and the Congress. The BJP collected Rs 1,775 crore in donations, of which Rs 1033 crore came from electoral bonds, while the TMC received Rs 545.74 crore and the Congress received Rs 541.27 crore during the same time (2021-22). In 2019, the Congress began a similar ‘outreach-cum-crowdfunding’ effort to support its Lok Sabha elections, with its volunteers targeting approximately 10 lakh booths across the country. What the BJP has to say? The BJP mocked the crowdfunding initiative, claiming that people who had stolen India for 60 years were now looking for money. The ruling party further claimed that the campaign is intended to divert attention away from the big cash grab from the premises of Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. Based on their track record, this will turn out to be just another attempt to drain off public funds and enrich the Gandhis. “Don’t be fooled by the Congress’s lofty talk of this crowdsourcing being inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s historic Tilak Swaraj Fund. They will tarnish both the Mahatma and Tilak. Going by their previous track record, this will turn out to be nothing but another attempt to siphon off public money and enrich the Gandhis,” BJP leader Amit Malviya alleged in a post on X. “All the hard-earned money people donate, if they do, will go to the Gandhis, who will continue to enjoy the good life. Worse, the move will be reduced to nothing, but another means to solicit dirty money, the kind Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu has been caught with,” Mr Malviya alleged, adding, “Don’t ‘Donate for Dynasty”. The BJP has targeted the Congress after the Income Tax Department raided an Odisha-based distillery firm owned by Sahu’s family and connected organisations and discovered a cash pile of over 351 crore. The Congress has distanced itself from its Rajya Sabha MP, alleging that the party has no involvement with his business. With inputs from PTI