EC filings show BJP received Rs 1,473 crore during last 5 state polls, over 7 times more than Congress

The BJP received nearly Rs 1,473 crore at its central headquarters alone during the last five state assembly elections, more than seven times the Rs 207 crore in net receipts reported by the Congress across its central and state units, according to expenditure statements filed with the Election Commission (EC).

The Congress, whose consolidated expenditure report for Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry had come earlier, reported net receipts of Rs 207.17 crore and an expenditure of Rs 248.55 crore during the March 15-May 6 election period.

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The BJP's Rs 1,472.8-crore figure, by contrast, represents receipts at its central headquarters alone during the same period, according to its expenditure statements made public by the EC.

The party's expenditure reports for Kerala and West Bengal polls are yet to be made public, meaning its consolidated receipts are likely to be higher.

The BJP also emerged from the election period with substantially more money at its central headquarters than it had at the start. Its closing balance rose to Rs 7,627.2 crore on May 6 from Rs 6,722.6 crore on March 15 -- an increase of Rs 904.6 crore during the poll period.

On the other hand, the Congress' finances saw a dip during the polls. Across its central headquarters and five state units, it began the election period with about Rs 169.06 crore (Rs 22.9 crore in cash and Rs 146.1 crore in bank accounts) and ended with about Rs 103.2 crore -- a decline of Rs 65.86 crore.

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The BJP's expenditure statements available so far show that it spent about Rs 159.7 crore in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, of which around Rs 130.4 crore went towards general party propaganda and the rest towards candidates and related expenses.

Assam accounted for the largest share, with an expenditure of Rs 96.27 crore.

Of this, Rs 76.73 crore was spent on general party propaganda and Rs 19.54 crore on candidates. Advertising and star campaigner travel dominated the general campaign bill, accounting for about Rs 37 crore and Rs 27.3 crore, respectively.

The party spent Rs 51.56 crore in Tamil Nadu, including Rs 44.51 crore on general propaganda and Rs 7.05 crore on candidates. Media advertisements accounted for about Rs 23.96 crore, while star campaigner travel cost about Rs 10.04 crore. Publicity material accounted for another roughly Rs 5.85 crore.

In Puducherry, the BJP reported an expenditure of Rs 11.90 crore -- Rs 9.19 crore on general propaganda and Rs 2.71 crore on candidates.

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The Congress reported spending Rs 143 crore on general party propaganda and Rs 105.55 crore on candidates across all five states, taking its overall election expenditure to Rs 248.55 crore.

The Congress central headquarters spent Rs 40.52 crore on general propaganda across the five states, while its state and local units spent another Rs 102.49 crore under this head. Kerala, where the party ousted the Left front from power, accounted for the biggest share of this expenditure at Rs 59.28 crore, followed by Assam at Rs 22.62 crore.