After losing vote cache, Congress goes on austerity drive

Mumbai: After drubbing in 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state, the Maharashtra Congress is on an austerity drive. It has cut down the cost of the programmes and expenditure of its main office Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai. The party workers did not receive enough funds for the local bodies polls held last year and in 2017. Despite the complaints of fund crunch, the Congress top leadership has remained silent on the issue.

A top Congress leader has admitted that the party has not been able to generate funds after it was voted out of power. The workers are not given enough funds for the programmes and elections. The workers are disappointed, as they cannot even hold programmes or functions for the party, the leader conceded.

The Congress has been going through a rough patch after its defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

After remaining in power for over 15 years, the party faced its worst lost ever in 2014 Assembly elections. Congress has even also lost control of local bodies in the state to the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). This has affected the party’s funding, and expenditure has been reduced, the sources in the party said.

The office in Mumbai Tilak Bhavan at Elphinstone is on an austerity drive. It has cut down its cost on snacks and tea, the sources said. The office bearers have to run the office on a limited budget, the sources added. However, Congress hasn’t officially reacted to the reports of an austerity drive.