New Delhi, September 22
The BJP and the Congress have submitted to the Election Commission (EC) their election expenditure reports, which reveal that the former spent over Rs 344 crore in the Assembly polls in five states held earlier this year and the latter more than Rs 194 crore.
According to the report filed by the BJP and put in public domain by the EC, the party spent Rs 344.27 crore on its campaigns for the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab Assembly elections held earlier this year. This was nearly 58 per cent higher than the Rs 218.26 crore the party logged as poll expenses in these states five years ago, it said.
The BJP’s spending report showed that it spent over Rs 221 crore in Uttar Pradesh, Rs 23 crore in Manipur, Rs 43.67 crore in Uttarakhand, Rs 36 crore in Punjab and Rs 19 crore in Goa. According to the report filed by the Congress, it spent over Rs 19.80 crore for campaigning and related expenditure in the five states in 2022, which is nearly 80 per cent higher than the Rs 108.14 crore it spent in 2017.
The Congress has not presented the state-wise breakup of its poll expenditure. It, however, has reported that the party spent Rs 15.67 crore on “virtual campaign through social media platforms/ apps and other means”. Parties contesting the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls are mandated to file their election expenditure reports before the EC in a stipulated timeframe.
