Cash-strapped CPM seeks crowdfunding

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking a cue from the Aam Aadmi Party the CPM here will crowdsource the funding of its election campaign.The party, struggling to match BJP and Congress-led UDF in campaign spending, has decided to approach the public for funds.
There will be a major change in the fund collection method. In the past, the party organised bucket collections, now a bank account has been created where supporters have been asked to credit money.The funds will credit money. The fund be audited and a report published soon after the polls.
Earlier, statements of accounts provided by local party committees on how bucket collection funds had been used were considered ap proved. The state committee passed them without a transparent audit.
CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said this will be the first time his party will collect contributions in a centralized, transparent fashion. "Earlier, we collected funds at the booth level and spent them locally.This time, we will have centralised campaigns and need enough funds to support these," he told TOI.
He said by routing money through a nationalised bank account, his party had set an example in transparency. "We will submit audited accounts to the Election Com mission," he said.
The decision to seek public help to raise money was taken by the CPM state committee two months ago, sources said, but formalities regarding the opening of a special account and other legal formalities delayed the move. Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, during a Facebook live chat last month, hinted that his party would need public support, especially from NRIs, to put up a good fight, because the UDF and the BJP would spend lavishly.
A current account has been opened at an SBI branch to collect contributions from the public. On Friday, the CPM state committee issued a request asking people to credit funds, however small, into this account.
"We have to take on the extravagant campaign unleashed by the UDF and BJP. As per our knowledge, BJP is spending Rs 250 crore for the Kerala polls. We can never match that spend. The UDF too is flush with funds," said a senior CPM leader.
The long campaign is also a major factor behind CPM's fast drying up coffers.