Delhi Elections: Who spent how much and on what – BJP, AAP, and Congress?

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spent ₹14.5 crore on campaigning during the Delhi Assembly election held in February this year. The Congress party spent ₹46.18 crore, according to the expenditure reports filed by parties with the Election Commission of India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has submitted a partial expenditure report, which shows that the saffron party spent ₹17 crore on its 68 candidates.

The Delhi Assembly elections results came as a setback for the AAP, with the BJP securing 48 of the 70 seats and reducing it to 22. The BJP came back to power in the national capital after 27 years. The Congress once again drew a blank in the Delhi assembly elections.

AAP: Propaganda, Advertisement, and Notices

Of the ₹14.5 crore, the AAP has spent ₹12.12 crore on general election propaganda. This includes ₹5 crore spent on media advertisements, phone calls, bulk SMS services, and Google ads, as per the report available on the Election Commission's website. For advertisements on Google, it spent ₹2.24 crore, while ₹73.57 lakh was spent on publicity on Facebook.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party spent ₹ 16 lakh on advertising the criminal antecedents of its candidates. Among candidates, the AAP gave the highest ₹ 39 lakh to its Moti Nagar candidate Shiv Charan Goel, who lost to the BJP’s Harish Khurana. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal got only ₹10 lakh, and former Chief Minister Atishi and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia ₹20 lakh each.

Former Minister Gopal Rai received ₹24.75 lakh, Saurabh Bharadwaj ₹22.8 lakh and Satyendar Jain ₹23 lakh, as per the details available on the poll panel's website.

Congress: Public Meetings, Guarantee Cards

The party did not fund its 70 candidates individually.

Of ₹46.18 crore total expenses, the Congress party spent ₹40.13 crore on ‘general party propaganda’ and ₹6.05 crore on candidates, including expenses on social media campaigns. The party spent ₹17.78 crore on advertisements, including ₹2.28 crore for print ads to Associated Journals Ltd, which publishes the National Herald owned by the Gandhi family.

The party spent ₹18 crore on posters and other campaign materials.

The party spent ₹4.85 crore on meetings, while ₹37,104 was spent on star campaigners. Another ₹2.79 crore was spent on printing guarantee cards, while ₹20.11 lakh was spent on live streaming events and ₹33,500 on press conferences.

BJP: ₹25 Lakh to each candidate

The Election Commission has not yet published the BJP’s Delhi poll expenditure report in full. However, it has published a ‘part’ report showing that the party gave ₹25 lakh each to 68 candidates, which amounts to ₹17 crore.

A candidate can spend up to ₹40 lakh for campaigning during assembly elections, and a party can spend as much for a seat. The expenditure by the parties doesn't reflect the money spent by candidates during elections.

The election expenditure details have to be submitted before the Election Commission of India.