India elections 2019: Modi, Gandhi led hectic pace of campaigning

New Delhi: As campaigning for the seventh and the final phase of India’s national elections ended on Friday, key Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi and Congress supremo Rahul Gandhi criss-crossed the country in a last-ditch push for votes.

The two leaders held daily multiple election rallies.

Since the Election Commission’s (EC) Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect on March 11, Prime Minister (PM) Modi addressed 125 rallies until May 13. On the other hand, Gandhi addressed 107 public rallies in the same duration.

Interestingly, all of Modi’s rallies have been in separate Parliamentary constituencies in different states, whereas Gandhi addressed more than one rally in several constituencies.

During this election season, Modi addressed far more rallies than any of his rivals.

He even managed to hold two to three rallies in a day, in different states, such as on April 20, when he held a rally each in South Dinajpur in West Bengal, Etah in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Forbesganj in Bihar.

By May 17, when campaigning for the final phase of general election officially ended, Modi addressed 135-odd rallies.

During this election, both Modi and Gandhi focused on UP the most. While the PM held 19 rallies in the state since March 11, Gandhi addressed as many as 18 rallies.

Though he started towards the end of March, Modi held rallies in almost all states of the country. But Gandhi, apart from UP, concentrated mainly on Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (MP).

“Narendra Modi is the key campaigner and the vote catcher for BJP. In the last five years, his popularity has skyrocketed making him the most popular political leader of the country. That makes sense why he is campaigning for most candidates of his party in the country,” BJP leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao told Gulf News.

Hot in the heels of Modi and Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) head Mayawati addressed around 30 rallies in UP and MP whereas Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee managed to attend 25 rallies, in West Bengal and UP.

While the EC has fixed the upper limit for a rally cost at Rs7 million (Dh365,594), it is believed that parties spend more than Rs10 million on each rally, sometimes spending five to ten times above the prescribed limit.

In fact, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram last month questioned the source of funds spent on PM Modi’s election rallies claiming that the expenditure incurred in his public rallies was more than a wedding.

“I wonder how many crores of rupees [tens of millions] are being spent on each rally featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi? At every rally, there is a ‘pandal’ (tent) that is better than a rich family’s marriage ‘pandal.’ There are tens of LED screens. What is the source of this huge amount of money?” Chidambaram asked.

He asked if the rally costs were added to the election expenses of the candidates for whom Modi campaigned.

“Is the expenditure on each PM rally being added to the election expenditure of the candidate or candidates in whose support the rally was held?” Chidambaram questioned.

Also Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh last month urged EC to disqualify Modi from contesting the election alleging that expenditure for his nomination day road show in Varanasi had exceeded the limit of Rs7 million set by the poll panel.

Singh claimed that Modi spent Rs12.7 million over the rally on his nomination day on April 26.

“The total expense of the rally was Rs12.7 million, well above the limit of Rs7 million. I request you to inquire into the matter based on this information, and disqualify Narendra Modi from fighting the election under sections 10A and 77 of the Representation of People Act 1951,” the complaint by Singh read.

Singh claimed that about Rs6.4 million were spent on private planes used by BJP leaders to reach Varanasi.

“More than 100 BJP leaders took flights to reach Varanasi at a cost of Rs1.5 million. The hotel expenses for leaders and workers would be around Rs800,000. The cost for more than 200 vehicles: Rs600,000. During the nomination rally, more than 200 four-wheelers were used. If one vehicle’s rent is about Rs2,500 to Rs3,000 then the total would be Rs600,000,” Singh alleged.