The latest expenditure statements filed with the Election Commission show a major contrast between the finances of the BJP and the Congress during the recent assembly elections.
The BJP received nearly ₹1,473 crore at its central headquarters alone during the last five state assembly elections—Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry—more than seven times the ₹207 crore in net receipts reported by the Congress across its central and state units.
The contrast is even more striking because the BJP figure covers receipts at its central headquarters alone. Its expenditure reports for Kerala and West Bengal are yet to be made public, which means that its consolidated receipts are likely to be higher.
The two parties also emerged from the election period in sharply different financial positions.
The BJP had ₹6,722.6 crore at its central headquarters when the election period began on March 15. By May 6, its closing balance had climbed to ₹7,627.2 crore. This is an increase of ₹904.6 crore during the poll period, while the Congress moved in the opposite direction.
Across its central headquarters and five state units, the Congress began the election period with around ₹169.06 crore, comprising ₹22.9 crore in cash and ₹146.1 crore in bank accounts, according to a PTI report. By the end of the period, its balance had declined to about ₹103.2 crore, a fall of ₹65.86 crore.
The Congress reported total expenditure of ₹248.55 crore, exceeding its net receipts of ₹207.17 crore.
The BJP's expenditure statements available so far cover Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The party spent around ₹159.7 crore across these three states. Of this, approximately ₹130.4 crore went towards general party propaganda, while the remaining amount was spent on candidates and related expenses.
Assam accounted for the BJP's highest expenditure among the three states, at ₹96.27 crore. The party spent ₹76.73 crore on general propaganda and ₹19.54 crore on candidates. Advertising accounted for around ₹37 crore of its general campaign expenditure in Assam, while travel by star campaigners cost around ₹27.3 crore.
In Tamil Nadu, the BJP spent ₹51.56 crore. This included ₹44.51 crore on general propaganda and ₹7.05 crore on candidates. Media advertisements accounted for around ₹23.96 crore, while ₹10.04 crore was spent on star campaigner travel. Publicity material cost another ₹5.85 crore.
The BJP spent ₹11.90 crore in Puducherry, including ₹9.19 crore on general propaganda and ₹2.71 crore on candidates.
The Congress, meanwhile, reported expenditure of ₹248.55 crore across all five states.
Of this, ₹143 crore was spent on general party propaganda and another ₹105.55 crore on candidates.
The Congress central headquarters spent ₹40.52 crore on general propaganda across the five states. Its state and local units spent another ₹102.49 crore.
Kerala, where the Congress ousted the Left front from power, accounted for the largest share of this expenditure at ₹59.28 crore, followed by Assam at ₹22.62 crore.
