Congress party in Kerala faces fund shortage

Congress party is facing a financial crunch in Kerala and candidates will have to raise their own funds to contest in local polls.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has been struggling to provide financial support to the Congress candidates, as the first phase of campaigns for local body elections in the state are around the corner.

KPCC has requested the candidates to arrange funds on their own personal capacity. Besides, for fund collection, the KPCC would print contribution coupons within the range of Rs 100 to Rs 1,000.

The KPCC has directed the candidates to collect money from the well-wishers and Congress party workers in order to raise funds, using the coupons distributed through the District Congress Committees.

The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM) and the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) state leaderships offer all help and support to their candidates, whereas the Congress leadership is struggling to raise funds.

The Congress ward committees will present the expense details of the money collected using the coupons to the District Congress Committees after the elections.

The candidates would be given coupons worth Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 from Ward level to the Block level respectively.

The KPCC clarified that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) provides financial support only during Assembly and Parliament elections.