Telangana: Munugode model will burn a hole in pocket, fear aspirants

HYDERABAD: Even as the political class in the state tries to wrap its head around the recently-held 'costliest' elections in Nalgonda's Munugode, a majority of aspirants for assembly tickets in the state, particularly those from the opposition parties, are now laid low by expenditure anxiety.
With the November 3 by-election setting unprecedented electioneering parameters in terms of money, liquor and freebies, aspirants are worried that in the event of a Munugode-type election, wealthy and powerful candidates will be preferred by the political parties while ignoring them.
"It is the politicos who are falling under the weight of their own feet. They have made electioneering a multi-billion business. This is absurd," a senior analyst said.
The incentives offered the parties in Munugode had such a significant impact that one party ran a campaign claiming that the rival party was handing out one tola gold clearly with the intention that the rival party cannot do that and people who hoped for it will not be voting for its candidate.
Interestingly, the other party did not even bother to deny the speculation and let the rumour fly thick and fast. "We were worried that if we responded to the campaign by our rivals, people might not support us. So, we kept silent on this," a former MLA of the party said. "This massive spending trend witnessed in Munugode was unhealthy and does not augur well for democracy," he stressed.
Gummadi Narsaiah, former MLA of CPI-ML (New Democracy), has a word of caution for the political parties and candidates. "I used to ride around my assembly constituency on a bicycle. I cannot imagine now of contesting a poll and winning it. The Munugode elections have reached a different stratosphere. Where this will lead to, I am perplexed," he told TOI. Narsaiah, who represented Yellandu segment for five terms, still travels by bus like a commoner to various places from Yellandu.
Analysts said fighting an election was no mean task. Saying that each candidate must be ready to spend at least 100 crore, especially in general quota assembly segments, VV Rao of Election Watch said: "Actually, the political parties have in a way sought huge funding with this pattern of electioneering. It is not right to say that voters are expecting money. They are the last link in the big network of money and politics."
The Election Commission's rules clearly set the poll expenditure limit at 40 lakh per candidate.
"There is no absolute privacy or sense of empowerment that citizens in the country feel now," Harathi Vageeshan, assistant professor of political science at NALSAR University of Law, said.