The BJP, which claims itself as the biggest political party in the world, has a whopping cash and bank balance of ₹ 7,113.80 crore against the principal opposition Congress party's ₹ 857.15 crore as of March 31, 2024, according to figures provided to the Election Commission.
The BJP spent as much as ₹1,754.06 crore during 2023-24 when Lok Sabha elections were announced, a whopping 60 per cent rise from ₹1,092 crore spent in 2022-23.
In comparison, the Congress spent ₹619.67 crore in 2023-24, against ₹192.56 crore in 2022-23. The Lok Sabha elections were announced on March 16, 2024.
According to the figures submitted to the EC in its annual audit reports, the BJP received ₹1,685.69 crore in voluntary contributions through the now-banned electoral bonds during 2023-24, compared to ₹1294.15 crore in the previous year.
The ruling party has also received other contributions to the tune of ₹2,042.75 crore during the year, against ₹ 648.42 crore in the previous year 2022-23.
In its audit report to the EC, the Congress showed total contributions of ₹1,225.11 crore during 2023-24, including ₹1129.67 crore through grants, donations and contributions. This included ₹828.36 crore received through electronic bonds during the year ended March 31, 2024, which have now been banned by the Supreme Court.
During the year, the BJP spent ₹591 crore on advertisements, including ₹434.84 crore in electronic media and ₹ 115.62 crore in printed material.
The ruling party also spent ₹174 crore during 2023-24 on aircraft/helicopters, against ₹78.23 crore in 2022-23 and gave financial assistance of ₹191.06 crore to its candidates during the year in question, against ₹75.05 crore in the previous year.
The BJP spent ₹84.32 crore on meeting expenses in 2024 and ₹75.14 crore for organising morchas, rallies, andolan and call centre expenses during 2023-24.
The Indian National Congress, on the other hand, spent as much as ₹207.94 crore on electronic media and ₹ 43.73 crore on printed material during 2023-24.
The opposition party also spent ₹ 62.65 crore on aircraft/helicopters during 2023-24 and gave financial aid of ₹ 238.55 crore for candidates. It also spent ₹ 28.03 crore on publicity expenses and ₹ 79.78 crore on social media expenses during the year ended March 31, 2024.
The party also stated in its audit report that it spent ₹ 49.63 crore on the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2, led by former party chief Rahul Gandhi during 2023-24, against ₹ 71.84 crore spent on Bharat Jodo Yatra undertaken by him from Kanyakumari to Kashmir during 2022-23.
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