NEW DELHI: Professor Gourav Vallabh, an academician and author, who is Congress’ key face contesting from the East Jamshedpur Assembly constituency in Jharkhand, is seemingly receiving a good response on the ground as he has managed to raise more than Rs 4 lakh in three days against a fund-raising target of Rs 28 lakh in 10 days.
The candidature of Vallabh in Jharkhand is no less than a surprise as he is contesting Assembly polls against Raghubar Das of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Das is the incumbent Chief Minister of the state.
Assembly elections in Jharkhand will be held in five phases between 30 November and 20 December. Counting will take place on 23 December.
Vallabh told The Sunday Guardian: “In less than a week, I have received around Rs 4 lakh with the help of a fund-raising startup. I have set a target of raising Rs 28 lakh to meet my election expenditure. The people’s response has been overwhelming and with their support, I will win this battle for sure.”
“Contesting elections requires resources that an honest common citizen can’t afford on his or her own and thus, people’s support becomes inevitable; therefore, I took the fundraising route where I urged people to contribute,” Vallabh said in his fund-raising appeal.
“It is unfortunate that in a democracy even today, only a handful of people are dominating the existing system, due to which many people are unable to contribute towards policymaking. Today, the need of the hour is that educated and professional people come forward from the society and contribute towards policy making because in real terms, the power of democracy is meant to change the lives of the people for good. I hope and believe that people will support me,” Vallabh said in his appeal.
Vallabh, who is a faculty member at the Xavier School of Management, has also authored several books and has a doctorate degree in Credit Risk Assessment.