The Congress party is preparing a road map to improve its financial situation, keeping an eye on possible expenses in the upcoming assembly elections and the all-important 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s former aide Kanishka Singh is part of a small group tasked with preparing a road map on party’s finances, said a senior party leader, familiar with the development.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders discussed the party’s depleting financial position at length during the Udaipur Chintan Shivir earlier this month, the leader added.
According to the Congress’ annual audit of FY20-21 submitted to the Election Commission in March this year, the party’s fund stood at ₹691 crore. This is about 14% of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ₹4,847 crore—as declared in its last audit report to the poll watchdog in 2019-20. The BJP’s audit of FY20-21 is still pending.
Among the proposals under party’s consideration includes the Kerala model of collecting donations of small amounts from people.
“During the Udaipur Shivir, former KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) chief Ramesh Chennithala had described how in Kerala, they have a successful model of door-to-door donation collection,” said a second senior leader. “It also helps in the party’s outreach to the people and when a central leader like Rahul Gandhi visits Kerala, the KPCC hands over cheques towards construction of the new party headquarters at DDU Marg in Delhi.”
{{/usCountry}}“During the Udaipur Shivir, former KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) chief Ramesh Chennithala had described how in Kerala, they have a successful model of door-to-door donation collection,” said a second senior leader. “It also helps in the party’s outreach to the people and when a central leader like Rahul Gandhi visits Kerala, the KPCC hands over cheques towards construction of the new party headquarters at DDU Marg in Delhi.”
{{/usCountry}}The Congress, which owns several properties and other assets, is also keen to monetise them, but it might face legal hurdles in the way. A few years ago, a committee was formed when Motilal Vohra was the treasurer on how to monetise or sell some of these assets, another senior leader said.
“But the problem is that many properties are in litigation brought by outgoing PCC presidents and others,” the leader added.
Another proposal before the party is to increase its membership fee, which is currently only ₹5. A primary member pays ₹5 when they join the party and during renewal of the membership.
The Congress’s finances dipped considerably after the BJP came to power in 2014. An ADR report published earlier this year pointed out that in FY19-20, corporate houses donated ₹921.95 crore, accounting for 91% of the total contribution from known sources to five national political parties. While donations from corporates to national parties increased by 143% between 2004-12 and 2019-20, the BJP received ₹785 crore of corporate donation in FY19-20 as against the Congress’s ₹139 crore.
In FY2017-18, the BJP got ₹210 crore out of the ₹222 crore worth of electoral bonds (or 94.5%) that were launched, keeping the corporate donors’ identity undeclared.