Leaders of the three major political parties, BRS, Congress, and BJP, are getting ready to tour districts using helicopters. In the past, political parties only hired helicopters for chief ministers, ministers, or party presidents. But this time, even ministers and MLAs are hiring them for public meetings and road shows in districts. BRS has hired five choppers and is looking for more from helicopter rental firms in Mumbai and Bengaluru. BJP has arranged for four choppers, and Congress will have at least three for their senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
BRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will be using an exclusive double-engine chopper to attend public meetings in nearly 100 assembly constituencies before the election on November 30. BRS working president KT Rama Rao, Finance Minister T Harish Rao, and other ministers will be using two more choppers. They will be hiring a total of eight choppers so they can address multiple public meetings in a day. Congress used two helicopters during the recent visit of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi before starting a bus campaign in the districts. They will be hiring two more choppers for the final phase of the campaign.
Karnataka Congress is helping Telangana Congress with arranging choppers for their poll campaign. BJP currently has two choppers available for national leaders’ campaigning and meetings, with two more to be added soon. Each party is expected to spend over Rs 10 crore on hiring choppers. According to Election Commission rules, parties using choppers must inform the ECI and obtain necessary permissions from all relevant authorities.
