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Politics has always been a costly business to enter, but this time round political parties in Andhra Pradesh has ensured that this election has been the costliest ever in the state.
All the major political parties are estimated to have spent a whopping Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) ever since the Election Commission announced the schedule of elections.
The fact that power politics in Andhra Pradesh has become expensive and also a cut-throat business is evident from the fact that political parties like Congress, out of power for a long time, had to literally dole out tickets to high networth individuals so as to ensure that they could take on the might of the Telugu Desam in this elections.
It was not imagined even a few months ago that a candidate would spend Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) to win from an Assembly constituency in AP. But this is what has happened in a number of Assembly segments in the state, especially in the second phase of polling.
According to estimates, the election spending by all the political parties and candidates of major political outfits is expected to touch Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) this time round, if not cross it.
The publicity blitz undertaken by the Telugu Desam in regional news channels and direct and indirect spending for influencing voters has gone up to a record level in this elections thanks to the ruling party, party sources point out.
The fact that the TDP had the largest coffers could be ascertained from the fact that it was the only party, which could afford to spend cash on helicopters for campaigning.
According to sources, the spending was very high in some faction-ridden pockets in Rayalaseema region and affluent Krishna, Guntur districts in coastal Andhra region.
Candidates in such constituencies, from both TDP and Congress, have been learnt to have spent an average Rs 4 - 5 crore (Rs 40-50 million) in each Assembly segments. When it comes to the Parliamentary candidates, the expenditure had touched Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million) in such places.
While the cash-strapped Congress party has relied solely on candidates for campaign expenditure in their respective constituencies, the ruling Telugu Desam Party had thrown its might behind their candidates in terms of supplementing their spending on election campaign.
It is said that on an average TDP on its own has provisioned close to Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) per Assembly segment, apart from what the candidates on their own could spend.
With no centralised funding available with the cash-strapped Congress, all the money that was collected for election purpose is alleged to have gone to the accounts of individual leaders and candidates only, sources said.
The case is no different with the leaders of the Congress ally in the state, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti also having resorted to enriching themselves at the expense of the party.
Among the spending, cash payment and supply of liquor to the voters, alone is estimated to be have cost anywhere between Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) and Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion). This component formed the single major chunk of expenditure in the last 48 hours of each of the two phases of polling.
The candidates have also spent crores of rupees on gifts meant for voters, like sarees, utensils, cricket kits among other things. Apart from this, hundreds of crores were spent on campaign material and logistical efforts.
Some of the TDP and Congress candidates are also understood to have gifted two-wheelers and four-wheelers to local level leaders, besides paying them cash for canvassing.
And sitting MLAs, had to spend more (the TDP had to spend the most as it had 180 MLAs in the dissolved Assembly) this time as the prolonged period between the dissolution of Assembly and the elections cost them extra money.
Elections have become so commercialised that the party machinery had to be greased with monetary initiatives at every level so as to ensure that it would work for the victory of its candidates.
TDP, which has a well established network up to the level of polling booth committees, also had to spend more money on that account.
Political parties like TRS had the advantage of the Telangana sentiment and the anti-incumbency factor that helped them to a great extent in terms of voluntary participation by cadres and voters in several areas.