Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surgical strike on black money by demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes had sent shock waves across the poll-bound state of Uttar Pradesh.
Leaders and cadre of the ruling BJP were initially gung ho about the prospect that this would stop the play of black money and hit its main rivals, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), hard.
However, what was being touted as a game-changer in Uttar Pradesh has turned out to be a damp squib as far as the SP and the BSP are concerned.
While political pundits suspect that the BJP’s rivals are either simply unruffled or just well-prepared for this eventuality, there is evidence to show that their political armies are ready, both with money power and changed strategies.
Money Stashed Away
The sudden announcement on the evening of November 8 may have come as a shocker for the common man, but there were enough signals from the central government to suggest that a move of this sort was perhaps on the cards.
Unlike small time businessmen, politicians of the state are not known for stashing money in their houses. They are known to have safe havens for black money outside the country. Mauritius, British Virgin Islands and Middle East are some of their favourite destinations.
Some politicians of this Hindi heartland are also known for their new found penchant for partnerships in business ventures which include the reality sector and the hospitality industry. Many invest their unaccounted money in such businesses.
Others are known to have chartered accountants and businessmen as their private bankers who keep the money safe till the politician requires hard cash.
Political Donations
A few days ago, a politician seeking a ticket from the Jat belt of the state met the top leaders of a regional outfit of UP and expressed his desire to contest elections on their party ticket.
The person, who was asked for Rs 1 crore for the ticket, expressed his inability to pay as he did not possess the new currency. To his surprise, he was told by the leaders that he need not worry as they were willing to take the money in the old denominations of Rs 1000 and Rs 500. The amount could easily be shown as political donations.
Leaders of another prominent political party of the state, (one which is known to openly 'sell' tickets), called up at least a hundred candidates who had already been promised tickets. They were told to take back the 'political donations' and were told that they would be contacted later.
Political Outfits’ Master Stroke
The meaning is clear. Within hours, the political outfit got rid of the scrapped currency notes. And now, as and when the new currency notes are in circulation, the same candidates would be asked to cough up the same amount once again.
The problem stands solved with this one master stroke.
The real problem? Lies within our system .
Under the Representation of Peoples Act, any political party which shows a donation of under Rs 20,000 from one person, is not bound to issue a receipt to the donor.
Amount of Rs 19,999 or below does not invite any question and a party claiming a mass base can easily amass crores of rupees as political donation without having to give any justification.
Political parties including the Congress (I), BJP, BSP, NCP CPI and CPI (M) have in recent years filed their income tax returns, showing that about 75 % of the political donations they received, were from unknown sources. Which simply means that this was money received from members and followers who had donated amounts below Rs. 20,000 per head.
The Heartland of Politics
Uttar Pradesh, the heartland of politics, has given the maximum number of Prime Ministers to India. Known as one of the most political aware states of the country, the people of UP, they say - eat, drink, smell and even dream of politics.
When BSP supremo Mayawati filed her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections on 13 March, 2012, she declared her personal wealth at a whopping Rs 111.64 crore, making her clearly one of the richest politicians in the country. This was revealed in the details of movable and immovable assets given by Mayawati, along with a sworn affidavit at the time of submitting her papers.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, the president of the Samajwadi Party, lags far behind when it comes to a comparison with Mayawati. In the last Lok Sabha elections, he declared his personal worth at Rs 15,96,71,544. But he and his family members are facing a case of disproportionate assets in the Supreme Court.
In a PIL filed by a lawyer Vishwanath Chaturvedi, it has been alleged that Mulayam had in 1977 declared his worth at Rs 77,000 and 28 years down the line, in 2005, he and his close kin have purchased property worth Rs 100 crore as show in sale deeds.
The Power of Money
The UP politicians are of a smarter breed. They could be a bit jittery at the moment but seem to be sure that their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations notes are being converted into the newly introduced currency till the time that they have to face elections. To quote a renowned economist: Money is what Money does. And the politicians of Uttar Pradesh are armed with the power of money!
(The writer is a freelance TV journalist. He can be reached @avasthivivek. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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