Star Wars: Who are star campaigners and what do they bring to the table

Moneycontrol looks at the concept of star campaigners, their role, and impact on outcomes.

As the election bandwagon rumbles through Karnataka, all political parties realise that more than any election promise, it is the star campaigners that may tilt the balance in their favour. Led in the main by political heavyweights, it includes movie stars, well-known celebrities, and even sportsmen.

The two principal contenders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have released a list of their star campaigners, who it is assumed would matter a lot to a voting public perpetually starved for famous names and faces.

The BJP has the biggest star on the firmament — Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Its other assets include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanth, now increasingly seen as the biggest crowd puller after the Prime Minister.

On the list of those helping the party to try and beat the anti-incumbency on May 10, the polling day, are Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa, chief minister of BJP-ruled states, union ministers, and a bevvy of local heavies.

The opposition Congress, hoping to turn the tables on the BJP, has its own bazookas to fire — a formidable list of 40 star campaigners.

Apart from the big two — former Congress presidents Sonia and Rahul Gandhi — there is current President Mallikarjun Kharge, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Priyanka Vadra, important Karnataka Congress leaders, and former chief ministers. Not surprisingly, it also includes Jagadish Shettar, who recently left the BJP to join the Congress.

The Congress list also includes star campaigners like cricketer-politician Mohd Azharuddin and its three chief ministers — Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, and Sukhvinder Singh Sukku. Two former Maharashtra chief ministers, Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan, have been added to the list in an effort to utilise them to extensively campaign in districts which share a border with their home state.

With the stakes so high, can the beautiful people be far behind? Movie stars, traditionally, add the extra zing to keep potential voters in right humour. Many `Sandalwood’ actors are lending their support to political parties. The Karnataka film industry is often called Sandalwood (as in Hollywood). There’s a large presence of sandalwood trees in the state.

Well-known Kannada actor, Kichcha Sudeep, has decided to campaign for the BJP, amid rumours that he may join the party. Kannada superstar, Darshan, is expected to campaign for the ruling party as well, which also has the support of former actor and Independent Mandya MP, Sumalatha Ambareesh.

Ramya, also known as Divya Spandana, a former Congress MP from Mandya, made her latest political appearance at Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Raichur last year.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of JD (S) supremo HD Kumaraswamy, made his acting debut with the Kannada-Telugu bilingual film, Jaguar. He contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Mandya district as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate and will be fighting from Ramanagara in the assembly polls. The Congress too has fielded actress Umashree as a candidate, ensuring that the powerful Karnataka moviedom is within sight.

Moneycontrol looks at the concept of star campaigners, their role, and their impact on outcomes.

Who is a Star campaigner?

A star campaigner is a famous person with a huge fan following who is chosen by a political party to either contest or campaign. Usually, they are picked based on popularity, but there is no specific definition under Indian law and the Election Commission (EC).

What about the expenditures of star campaigners?   

The EC keeps track of the campaign expenses incurred by each candidate, which for most states comes to Rs 70 lakh per constituency. The star campaigner’s electioneering expenses are not deducted from the candidate’s poll expenses, allowing the latter additional leeway in campaign spending. According to the EC’s Model Code of Conduct guidelines, expenditure on security, including bulletproof vehicles, for a prime minister or a former prime minister, who is a star campaigner, have to be borne by the government, not the party or the individual candidate. However, if another campaigner accompanies the Prime Minister, the candidate will be responsible for half of the costs associated with the necessary security measures.

What are their rules of expenditure?

The expenditure on the star campaigner is borne by the candidate if a) A candidate shares the stage with a star campaigner in a rally; B) There are posters or banners

of star campaigners along with the photo of the candidate; C) The name of the candidate is mentioned by the star campaigner during a rally or any other event; D) In the event that there is more than one candidate sharing the stage with the star campaigner, or there are posters with the photographs of more than one candidate, then the expenses are equally divided among all such candidates.

Why the need for star campaigners?

The star campaigner is always a political heavyweight or a celebrity and a famous face, who helps in promoting the party he or she is representing and drumming up support for it, adding to its vote bank. Political parties cover these costs under the Representation of Peoples Act.

How many star campaigners can be fielded by a political party during an election campaign?

Unrecognised political parties are limited to fielding a maximum of 20-star campaigners, while mainstream parties are allowed up to 40. Within a week of being notified of an election, the Election Commission (EC) receives a list of the top campaigners. Under the law, the EC is empowered to decide who a star campaigner is.

In 2020, the EC withdrew Kamal Nath’s star campaigner designation citing his numerous infractions of the EC’s Model Code of Behaviour as the reason for his disqualification. Later, the Supreme Court ruled that the EC lacked the authority to deprive a candidate of their star campaigner status. Since then, the matter hangs in balance.