Feature
Kanhaiya Kumar raises Rs 70 lakh through crowd funding for Lok Sabha polls
New Delhi: CPI candidate from Begusarai Kanhaiya Kumar has raised the highest amount of over Rs 70 lakh through crowd funding for Lok Sabha elections while Atishi, AAP candidate from Delhi East, has raised over Rs 61 lakh so far, according an online crowd funding platform.
Kumar, who will be a candidate in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 29, raised Rs 70,00,903 with help 5326 supporters on the crowd funding platform ‘Our Democracy’.
The funds for him have ranged from highest Rs 5,00,000 to Rs 100 with several people giving their names while a few choosing anonymity by describing themselves as “well wisher”.
Kumar is locked in a triangular contest with BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh and RJD’s Tanveer Hassan.
Atishi has so far raised Rs 61,78,214 thorough crowd funding. With Delhi going to the polls in the sixth phase on May 12, she is expected to raise more money for the campaign.
Her colleagues in the party and contestants from Delhi Dilip K. Pandey and Raghav Chadha have also raised money through crowd funding. Pandey has raised Rs 6,17,107 and Raghav Chadha Rs 3,67,111.
The dismissed BSF trooper, Tej Bahadur Yadav, who complained of poor quality food given to the forces and has decided to fight election from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been able to raise Rs 46,752 so far.
RJD leader and former Bihar Finance Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who is contesting from Darbhanga, has raised Rs 1,23,677.
Election Commission guidelines state that a candidate can spend between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 70 lakh, depending on the state where they are fighting the Lok Sabha election. A candidate can spend a maximum of Rs 70 lakh as election expenditure except in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim. The cap for Delhi is Rs 70 lakh but it is less for other union territories. It is Rs 54 lakh for Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim.
Bilal Zaidi, a co-founder Our Democracy, told media persons that they launched the platform in January and it has been used for 79 election candidate campaigns so far.
CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar raises Rs 70 lakh through crowd funding for LS polls:
“Most of them are Lok Sabha candidates but a couple of candidates are contesting assembly polls. The platform is designed in a way that it creates virality (social media support),” he said.
Zaidi said of 79 candidates, eight are from Left parties, three from Congress, two from Samajwadi Party, one from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and many independents.
He said Our Democracy is the only platform at present which meets the norms of election funding set by the Election Commission.
Asked about website not displaying names of all the donors, he said they “allow people to be private” if they chose to do so.
“Our purpose is that whatever money comes, it should be a bank-to-bank transaction. When a candidate submits details of donors to the Election Commission, all the names will be there. The website will show names of those who are comfortable in getting them displayed,” he said.
The minimum contribution accepted by the platform is Rs 100.
Zaidi said it is easier for people with national profile to get funding through social media and those with a localised profile find it a little difficult.
“India is world’s largest democracy and we celebrate democracy at every level. With a country that is such a vibrant democracy, why is there such a question around political finance? How come ordinary people do not know much about those who fund political parties?” he asked.
He said they wanted to reach out to citizens so that they not only vote but but also take the responsibilty of funding and expenditure of their political candidates so that they work for them.
Zaidi said they charge five per cent commission on all the funds that are raised.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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