With BJP and Congress lining up some 200 public rallies each — BJP is expected to depute some 30-40 central functionaries to campaign — in the run-up to election day, air travel, especially by helicopters, is likely to be the highestever this election season.
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“Apart from Prime Minister Modi, all other functionaries will have to depend on helicopters for their travel,” said a senior BJP functionary.
The entry of AAP and AIMIM into the election fray will also push up demand for helicopters, as AAP has planned 10 rallies that will feature Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM and party supremo, in different parts of the state.
“Demand for aircraft is on the rise [mainly BJP and Congress],” said JS George, director, Golden Eagle Aviation Ltd, Bengaluru. “Once election dates are announced and campaigning starts in earnest, demand is expected to go through the roof. ”
Anticipating a spike, operators are in the process of mobilising more aircraft, especially helicopters, from cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi. “We believe at least 12-15 helicopters will be needed when demand peaks,” George said. “We are in talks with agencies from other states to mobilise more aircraft. ”
Expensive travel
The 2018 assembly elections saw a huge increase in use of aircraft. BJP spent Rs 17. 2 crore on air travel for state and central functionaries, while Congress spent Rs 10. 5 crore, Election Commission of India data shows. BJP’s expenditure was nearly 400% more than the Rs 3. 5 crore it spent in the previous state elections in 2014, while for Congress, expenditure was 200% up from Rs 3. 4 crore. Sources in the aircraft chartering industry said they expect parties’ expenses on copters and aeroplanes alone to touch Rs 35-40 crore this time. About half-a-dozen firms provide helicopters and aircraft for hire in the state, and about six helicopters and three or four chartered planes (fixed wing aircraft in aviation parlance) are available at any given point in time.
Besides, many politicians, including Satish Jarkiholi, KJ George, SS Mallikarjun, Raghu Achar, Anand Singh, and Vijay Sankeshwar own helicopters or planes and give them out on hire when they are not using them.
Because they can land almost anywhere, the demand for helicopters is much higher. In fact, operators don’t see demand for aeroplanes rising significantly, since these aircraft need proper airstrips or aerodromes.
To make the most of anticipated demand, operators are also considering increasing tariffs by 10-15%. A special flight of a twin-engine aircraft with a seating capacity of 4-7 will cost between Rs 6. 5 lakh and Rs 11 lakh excluding GST to travel from Bengaluru to cities like Hubballi, Belagavi, Mangaluru, and Kalaburagi. The costing of hiring a twin-engine helicopter is about Rs 3 lakh (plus GST) per hour.
While Congress has asked functionaries like KPCC president DK Shivakumar, opposition leader Siddaramaiah, campaign committee chairman MB Patil, and others to take care of their air travel on their own, BJP is more organized in the matter has a separate wing led by Prakash Mandoth that arranges helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for functionaries.
“We have already held two rounds of meetings with service providers and have informed them about our requirements. Once the itinerary of our functionaries is fixed, we will begin hiring,” Mandoth said.
source
The post is published through a syndicated feed and attributed to Times Of India
