Realtors, contractors top donors in Lok Sabha polls

Hyderabad: Corporations, real estate companies, educational institutions and civil contractors of government projects were the biggest donors in states that witnessed Lok Sabha polls.

In Andhra Pradesh, the owner of a chain of educational institutes and a former minister, was the largest funder, said a source.

Constituencies of Kadapa, Anantapur, Viskahapatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur were reportedly the most expensive LS seats in the state as crores were pumped in. In Telangana state, the Nalgonda, Chevella and Malkajgiri saw the highest expenditure.

Mr V.V. Rao, an election watcher, said, “The reason for increase in poll expenditure from Rs 30,000 crore in 2014 to Rs 65,000 crore in 2019 nationwide, is the Centre’s introduction of electoral bonds to facilitate contribution of corporates for poll funding anonymously. Removal of the ceiling on corporate contribution (up to 7.5 per cent of three-year average profits), allowing contribution from foreign corporates working in India are other reasons.”

Out of the 96,000 companies registered with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in the last four years, a large number have been identified as benamis of election funders, and shell companies floated with no physical office. The companies showed one operator and computer as an entire office, like in the case of alleged GST fraud committed by the Sujana group of companies currently under probe.

Mr Rao added, “For a different reason also the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were a watershed. This was how the major source of poll funding is now corporate and in the name of transparency, anonymity is promoted.”

Poll researchers found an interesting political tactic had been deployed — not all candidates offered cash to voters; the alternatives were sponsored pilgrimages and foreign trips to groups of voters — a new way of canvassing for community votes (foreign trips included to Bangkok, Singapore).

“There were a large number of millionaire candidates (owning multi crore corporations) in the recent elections,” added N. Bhaskara Rao, founder-chairman, Centre for Media Studies. “A higher percentage of the campaign expenditure was borne by the candidates themselves.  For example, the TD allegedly spent `10,000 crore. The YSR Congress it was alleged received `1,000 crore from the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and `500 crore from the BJP. The money was for campaign costs.”