Ashok Gupta blew the lid off the cash-for-tickets scandal

The practice of cash-for-tickets is one of the worst-kept secrets of India's electoral system, so it has generated little comment ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls. That changed last Monday, when Ashok Gupta, a ticket aspirant from Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), created a scene at a press conference in New Delhi.

The drama took place at the RLSP chief and Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Kushwaha's official residence at 78, Lodhi Estate as soon as the party announced the candidate for the Narkatiyaganj constituency.

As stunned party leaders looked on, Gupta started wailing, rolling on the floor and accusing Kushawaha of bribery and nepotism (the ticket for this particular constituency had gone to a relative, Sant Singh Kushwaha).

At first, Gupta said he had spent Rs 50,000 after being "promised the ticket". Later, he said he had already "spent" more than Rs 50 lakh to get the ticket, selling his house and farms for Rs 81 lakh despite his wife's objections. "She told me not to trust these people. I have given them all my money. Now, what will I tell my wife?" a sobbing Gupta said outside Kushwaha's house.

The minister was not on hand to reply to these charges, having hurriedly left the scene, but Gupta's dramatic performance blew open the lid on the entrenched corruption within the political system. When this reporter tried to contact Gupta, an RLSP leader aggressively retorted, "This happens with all parties. Everybody has to pay to get a ticket." His reply may have been appalling but it was the truth. Only very senior leaders and their children are exempted from this payment.

Leaders concede that money plays an important role in winning an election and they do not care about the source. A ticket aspirant is expected to bear all the expenses for building party infrastructure in a constituency. This involves setting up a war room to monitor poll trends, plus staying in touch with the party leadership with regular gifts of sweets and expensive gadgetry. If the senior leaders of the regional parties are invited to campaign, then the candidate has to arrange for the travel (helicopters and SUVs), meal and stay of the leader and his or her entourage and pay to mobilise a respectable crowd.

Party workers also need to be paid and they don't come cheap. "Earlier, a worker would ask for Rs 100-150 per day along with meals. But now they want nothing less than Rs 500 per day along with a hearty non-vegetarian meal plus liquor. A politician needs 20 to 50 people around him as a show of strength. We can do the math," said a JD-U MLA.

Transport expenses are another burden. As an LJP candidate said, "Candidates are expected to visit the party leaders with a lavish convoy of SUVs. These vehicles are expensive and consume a lot of fuel. It's all part of the show and only those who can spend the most, usually get the ticket."

One RJD candidate admits that the main reason he got a ticket was that he outspent all his rivals. "So far, I have spent more than Rs 1.5 crore. I am ready to spend more. You cannot contest an election based on ideology, you need deep pockets for that," he said. If that's the investment, you begin to wonder what will be the return.