BJP’s war chest grew ₹905 crore during 2026 polls, Congress’ shrank ₹66 crore: What EC data reveals
The Congress, whose consolidated expenditure report for Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry had come earlier, reported net receipts of ₹207.17 crore and an expenditure of ₹248.55 crore during the March 15-May 6 assembly election period.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got nearly ₹1,473 crore at its central headquarters alone during the last five state assembly elections, according to a latest set of documents shared by the saffron party.
This is more than seven times the ₹207 crore in net receipts reported by the Congress party 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 ₹207.17 crore and an expenditure of ₹248.55 crore during the March 15-May 6 election period, news agency PTI reported.
The saffron party's ₹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 Election Commission of India on its website.
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.
BJP's closing balance rose to ₹7,627.2 crore
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 ₹7,627.2 crore on May 6 from ₹6,722.6 crore on March 15 — an increase of ₹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 ₹169.06 crore ( ₹22.9 crore in cash and ₹146.1 crore in bank accounts) and ended with about ₹103.2 crore — a decline of ₹65.86 crore.
The BJP's expenditure statements available so far show that it spent about ₹159.7 crore in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, of which around ₹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 ₹96.27 crore.
Of this, ₹76.73 crore was spent on general party propaganda and ₹19.54 crore on candidates. Advertising and star campaigner travel dominated the general campaign bill, accounting for about ₹37 crore and ₹27.3 crore, respectively.
The party spent ₹51.56 crore in Tamil Nadu, including ₹44.51 crore on general propaganda and ₹7.05 crore on candidates. Media advertisements accounted for about ₹23.96 crore, while star campaigner travel cost about ₹10.04 crore. Publicity material accounted for another roughly ₹5.85 crore.
In Puducherry, the BJP reported an expenditure of ₹11.90 crore -- ₹9.19 crore on general propaganda and ₹2.71 crore on candidates.
Congress spent ₹143 crore on general party propaganda
The Congress reported spending ₹143 crore on general party propaganda and ₹105.55 crore on candidates across all five states, taking its overall election expenditure to ₹248.55 crore.
The Congress central headquarters spent ₹40.52 crore on general propaganda across the five states, while its state and local units spent another ₹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 ₹59.28 crore, followed by Assam at ₹22.62 crore.
Political funding in 2025
All registered political parties in India are required to submit annual audit and contribution reports to the Election Commission of India.
This is a mandatory financial compliance requirement aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in political funding, as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The BJP received donations worth ₹6,074 crore in FY 2024-25, a new report by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) had revealed in March 2026.
This amount is about a 171% increase from the ₹2,243 crore in political donations the saffron party received in FY 2023-24, the analysis said. The BJP's declared donations are about ten times the aggregate declared donations of four other political parties, including the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the CPI(M) and the NPEP in FY 2024-25.
(With agency inputs)
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.<br><br> Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.<br><br> Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.<br><br> Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.<br><br> Jeelani is a Bachelor's in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
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