BJP received ₹1,473 crore in donations for 5-state elections:7 times more than Congress; spent ₹96 crore in Assam, won 22 more seats

In the Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Puducherry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the BJP received seven times more donations than the Congress. Between March 15 and May 4, the BJP received ₹1,472.8 crore, while the Congress received ₹207.17 crore. The Election Commission released these figures on Wednesday. The BJP’s expenditure in the Kerala and West Bengal Assembly elections is yet to be disclosed. According to the Election Commission, the BJP spent the most in Assam, at ₹96 crore. The party won 82 seats there, 22 more than it had won in the 2021 Assembly elections. The NDA formed governments in Assam, Bengal and Puducherry. India formed the government in Kerala, while TVK and Congress formed the government in Tamil Nadu. Congress donations fall to Rs 103.2 crore The BJP’s funds increased by ₹904.6 crore during the election period. The party had ₹6,722.6 crore on March 15, which rose to ₹7,627.2 crore by May 6. Meanwhile, the Congress party’s election fund fell by ₹658.6 million. At the beginning of the election period, the party had around ₹169.06 million. This included ₹229 million in cash and ₹146.1 million in bank accounts. By May 6, the amount had fallen to around ₹103.2 million. BJP spent Rs 11.90 crore in Puducherry The BJP spent around ₹159.7 crore in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Of this, around ₹130.4 crore was spent on general party campaigning, while the rest was spent on candidates and related expenses. In Assam, the BJP spent the most, at ₹96.27 crore. This included ₹76.73 crore on general party campaigning and ₹19.54 crore on candidates. The BJP’s total expenditure in Tamil Nadu was ₹515.6 million. Of this, ₹445.1 million was spent on general campaigning and ₹70.5 million on candidates. However, the party won only one seat. In Tamil Nadu, around ₹23.96 crore was spent on media advertisements, around ₹10.04 crore on travel for star campaigners and around ₹5.85 crore on promotional material. In Puducherry, the BJP spent ₹11.90 crore, including ₹9.19 crore on general campaigning and ₹2.71 crore on candidates. Congress spent Rs 143 crore on campaigning The Congress party spent ₹143 crore on general party campaigning and ₹105.55 crore on candidates across the five states, taking its total election expenditure to ₹248.55 crore. The Congress central headquarters spent ₹40.52 crore on general campaigning in the five states. State and local units spent ₹102.49 crore on the same. Kerala accounted for the largest share of the Congress’s general campaign spending, at ₹59.28 crore. The Congress, which ousted the Left Front from power in Kerala, was followed by Assam, where ₹226.2 million was spent on general campaign expenditure. Earnings of parties in the year 2024-25 The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released data on the income of political parties for 2024-25. According to the report, the BJP’s total income was ₹6,769.15 crore. ​