Rahul baba tops high-fliers club

Having covered 87,010 km by air this campaign season, the Gandhi scion leaves mum and other netas way behind

Rahul baba tops high-fliers club

Having covered 87,010 km by air this campaign season, the Gandhi scion leaves mum and other netas way behind

Rahul Gandhi has clearly gone that extra mile this campaign season.

Having covered 87,010 km, the Gandhi scion has clocked the highest number of flying miles during this election campaign, leaving behind all other political leaders, including his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
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Number of choppers in India, of which up to 50 are being used for campaigning

Jet-setting netas

If using choppers is the trend this campaigning season, Rahul Gandhi is the trendsetter. Having covered 87,010 km, the Gandhi scion has clocked the highest flying miles during his campaign, leaving behind all other netas, including his mother Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress has rented a luxury Falcon jet for the Gandhi family, which has been used by Rahul, Sonia as well as Priyanka for long distances.

For shorter trips, the party has chartered two twin-engine 10-seater Dauphin helicopters for Sonia, while Rahul and other Congress leaders use a four-seater helicopter.

According to industry sources, the Congress and the BJP have hired 15 helicopters each.

"Our party has chartered an eight-seater Hawker 850 business jet, keeping in mind the distance Advaniji will travel. Most importantly, the journey should be comfortable," said BJP's Maharashtra unit spokesperson Vinod Tawde, Advani, the party's candidate for PM, has so far flown 63,345 km.

Having covered 58,101 km during his campaign, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi appears fourth on the list of 'high-flying' politicians. Another politician, who has taken to the skies this campaigning season is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. An official involved in brokering a deal for the Bahujan Samaj Party said that despite addressing only two rallies a day, Mayawati has covered a distance of 47,420 km. "She travels by a private jet or helicopter depending on the distance, but has never travelled by road during this campaign. Being punctual for a rally is a must for her," the official said.

While RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and JD (U) president Sharad Yadav are using a six-seater Eurocopter and a five-seater Bell respectively, Sharad Pawar has a seven-seater helicopter at his disposal.

Renting a chopper costs between Rs 45,000 and over Rs 1 lakh an hour

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