Who will pay for Raj Thackeray’s rallies?

EC is wondering who will pay for rallies organised for MNS chief, who is campaigning for other parties across the state

Who will pay for Raj Thackeray's rallies?

Raj Thackeray at a rally recently. Pic/Ashish Rane

Election authorities are faced with a peculiar question. Who will pay for the MNS chief Raj Thackeray's rallies across the state in which he will campaign for the Congress and NCP? Thackeray had announced that he would stay away from contesting the polls, but will address six rallies in favour of Congress and NCP candidates.

He started his campaign on Friday from Nanded where Congressman and ex-CM Ashok Chavan is UPA's candidate. Technically, the MNS cannot be asked to submit a statement of account as per the election rules because it does not have candidates in the Lok Sabha contest, even though local MNS leaders organise the event with a display of the party's symbol and flags.

A Lok Sabha candidate is allowed to spend up to Rs 70 lakh on canvassing. Parties don't have any expenditure ceiling and can spend on flying out star campaigners, but the expenses incurred on rallies is borne by the candidate and shown in his/her statement of account that needs to be submitted within 30 days from polling day.

Parties on the other hand submit their statements within 90 days from polling day. Failure to submit statements invites action from the Election Commission. Thackeray has become a star campaigner for the Opposition parties after MNS rallies in Mumbai in which he launched scathing attacks on the BJP and PM Narendra Modi received massive traction. His Power Point presentations, in which he claimed to have nailed the lies spread by the ruling parties, has increased his demand in the UPA constituencies. Sources said he is flooded with requests from the Congress and NCP contestants to address rallies in their segments.

When asked, additional chief electoral officer of Maharashtra Dilip Shinde told mid-day that the expenditure could be shown in a particular candidate's account if he or she shows up at Thackeray's rally with the election symbol or flags of the party. What if these things don't happen, yet Thackeray mentions candidates or parties in his speech? Shinde said it would be a technical issue that should be decided by the election authorities.

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