From choppers to Google ads: Inside BJP’s Rs 529 core poll spending
The recently concluded Assembly polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam, and Kerala saw major political parties spend nearly Rs 1,006 crore, according to expenditure statements filed with the Election Commission of India (ECI), with the BJP spending more than half that amount. The party submitted its poll expenditure statements to the ECI in August.
The party’s expenditure details record that the BJP received receipts of around Rs 1,500 crore between March and April 2026. The filing shows the BJP’s opening balance rose from Rs 6,782.65 crore to Rs 7,793.88 crore. Of the donations received, the party spent Rs 529.38 crore on the Assembly elections and the recent polls across five States and a Union Territory, with more than half the expenditure (Rs 286.99 crore) incurred in West Bengal. This includes Rs 217.16 crore on party propaganda in the State and Rs 69.83 crore on candidate-related expenditure.
The Congress’s total expenditure across five states and a Union Territory, according to the filings, was Rs 248.55 crore. The party reported spending Rs 42.08 crore in West Bengal. This included Rs 12.96 crore on general campaigning and Rs 29.12 crore on candidates and related expenses. In Assam, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the party spent Rs 91.92 crore, Rs 83 crore, Rs 51.52 crore and Rs 12 crore respectively.
The Trinamool Congress, which split into several factions post-poll, has yet to file its expenditure details.
The filing also shows the scale of the BJP’s campaign-related spending. The party’s central headquarters reported Rs 51.50 crore in travel expenses for star campaigners, while Rs 55.76 crore was spent on media advertisements for party propaganda. The listed expenses include aircraft and helicopter travel involving several senior BJP leaders. The filing further shows that Google received around Rs 24 crore and Facebook Rs 5 crore from the BJP during the campaign in West Bengal.
The BJP’s Kerala expenditure statement records gross election expenditure of Rs 82.67 crore, combining party propaganda (Rs 54.93 crore) and candidate-related expenditure (Rs 27.74 crore). Within this, the State unit reported Rs 41.13 crore on propaganda, including Rs 26.01 crore on media advertisements, Rs 5.01 crore on publicity material and Rs 8.30 crore on travel for star campaigners.
While limits cap how much a candidate can spend on contesting elections, parties can spend unlimited amounts on fighting polls.
TVK spent Rs 19.8 crore for the 2026 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu. In comparison, DMK reported poll expenditure of Rs 197.8 crore and AIADMK Rs 112.4 crore.
