On Monday, December 18, the Congress will begin a national crowdfunding campaign called “Donate for Desh” in an effort to generate resources for the party in advance of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress announced that Mallikarjun Kharge, the party chief, will kick off the campaign in Delhi.
According to the Congress, Indians who are older than eighteen (18) can contribute to the campaign with a minimum of Rs 138 or in multiples of Rs 1,380, Rs 13,800, and so forth. According to Congress MP KC Venugopal, Mahatma Gandhi’s famous ‘Tilak Swaraj Fund,’ established between 1920 and 1921, served as the model for this crowdsourcing project. According to him, the initiative seeks to enable the party in building a prosperous and equitable society in India.
Prior to the most recent general elections, on October 2, 2018, the party launched a “outreach-cum-crowdfunding” campaign; however, the campaign did not pick up much steam locally. According to sources close to the Congress, the party is short on funds and unable to compete with the well-oiled BJP electoral apparatus. It has been claimed that because the program is set up to benefit the ruling party, the BJP is receiving the majority of electoral bonds.
Up until the party’s foundation day on December 28, the campaign will mostly be conducted online. Subsequently, grassroots initiatives will be initiated, involving volunteer door-to-door canvassing, aiming to collect at least Rs 138 from each of the ten houses in each booth. According to Venugopal, individuals holding state-level office, elected officials, presidents of District Congress Committees, leaders of PCCs, and representatives of the AICC will be urged to make a minimum contribution of Rs 1,380 each.
