Karnataka Assembly elections: Chopper business to witness boom this season

The Congress has asked its leaders D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and M B Patil to take care of their air travel.

The demand for choppers in Karnataka has soared as key politicians from major political parties are expected to travel across the state to campaign for the assembly elections.

The BJP is all set to depute at least 30 central functionaries for the campaign in the next week. The Congress and BJP have nearly 200 public rallies each lined up.

Air travel is expected to be the highest ever this election season, Times of India reported.

The report quoting a senior BJP member said that apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all other functionaries will have to depend on helicopters for their travel.

The demand for the choppers have been furthered with the entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and AIMM entering the fray. The AAP has planned 10 rallies that will feature Arvind Kejriwal. He would be addressing rallies in different parts of the state.

The report while quoting J S George, director, Golden Eagle Aviation Ltd, Bengaluru said that the demand for aircraft is on the rise, mainly among the BJP and Congress leaders. As the dates are announced the demand will only go up, he said.

Anticipating a spike in demand, the operators are in the process of mobilising aircraft from cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai and delhi. According to George, at least 12-15 more choppers will be needed when the demand peaks.

In the 2018 elections, the BJP spent Rs 17.2 crore on air travel for both state and central functionaries. The Congress on the other hand spent Rs 10.5 crore, data by the Election Commission India said. This year the expenditure on air travel is expected to touch Rs 35-40 crore, the report also said.

The report said that the Congress has asked its leaders, D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and M B Patil to take care of the air travel costs on their own. The BJP on the other hand follows a more organised style and has a separate wing headed by Prakash Mandoth that arranges choppers and fixed-wing aircrafts for its leaders. Mandoth has already had two rounds of meetings with the service providers and informed them about their requirements. The hiring would begin once the itinerary of the functionaries are finalised, Mandoth said.

On the other hand operators are planning to cash in on the demand and are likely to increase the tariff by 10-15 per cent.