Congress spends most but fails to win seats: ADR expenses report

Despite spending the maximum amount in the Delhi Assembly elections in February this year, the Congress failed to win even a single seat.

In comparison, the AAP incurred the least amount and came second, while the BJP, which recorded the second-highest expenditure, bagged the crown, according to the ADR expenditure report.

According to the report, the Congress spent more money than the BJP on “party propaganda” and social media campaigns in the Delhi assembly elections this year, but lagged on expenses on candidates.  According to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) of the election expenditure reports filed by the parties with the Election Commission of India, the BJP’s total expenses were higher at Rs 57.65 crore for the elections than those of Congress at Rs 46.19 crore.

In terms of total funds collected for the Delhi assembly elections 2025, the BJP was ahead at Rs 88.7 crore than Rs 64.3 crore of the Congress.

In the election for a total of 70 assembly seats, the BJP came victorious with 48 seats, while the Congress could not win a single seat. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 22 seats.

According to the ADR analysis, AAP declared expenses totalling Rs 12.12 crore on party propaganda and Rs 2.4 crore on candidates, resulting in total expenses of Rs 14.5 crore.  It spent nearly Rs 3 crore on social media, as against just Rs 5.26 lakh declared by the BJP and Rs 5.95 crore by the Congress.

The BJP’s total expenses stood at Rs 57.65 crore, higher than Rs 46.19 crore of the Congress and Rs 14.5 crore of AAP.  The BJP spent Rs 39.14 crore on party propaganda, less than Rs 40.13 crore of the Congress but higher than Rs 12.12 crore declared by AAP.

According to the declarations made by nine parties so far, their total expenses stood at Rs 120.3 crore, including Rs 27 crore on candidates. Other than the BJP, Congress and AAP, the BSP was the only party to have spent more than Rs 1 crore (Rs 1.8 crore).

Total funds collected by all parties during the election stood at Rs 170.68 crore. This included Rs 88.7 crore by the BJP, Rs 64.3 crore by the Congress and Rs 16.1 crore by AAP.

A vast majority of funds were collected at the central headquarters level of the parties.  Also, cheque/DD was the most preferred mode of collection at over 74 per cent, while nearly 26 per cent of funds were collected through cash.

For expenditure also, only 0.04 per cent or Rs 3.7 lakh was spent in cash, according to declarations made by the parties. The AIMIM, which contested in two seats but did not win any, is the only party that incurred no expenditure, according to its declaration.

The Congress and AAP contested on all 70 seats, while the BJP contested from 68 seats and gave two seats to its allies.

Total funds collected by six parties that contested both the 2020 and 2025 elections rose by nearly nine per cent to nearly Rs 170 crore this time. Of these, the Congress saw the maximum increase of over 222 per cent, while the same for the BJP declined by 25 per cent and rose by nearly six per cent for AAP.

Total expenses for these six parties rose by nearly 39 per cent between the 2020 and 2025 elections.

In the case of the Congress, the increase was nearly 161 per cent and 20.5 per cent for the BJP, while AAP spent nearly 32 per cent less funds.