JOIN USBihar polls: In 2015, BJP spent almost 73% more than other parties on campaigning
If campaign spends showcase a political party's intent to win elections, the BJP's 2015 election spend sits right at the top of the list. The saffron party pulled out all stops in the last Bihar assembly election spending Rs 135 crore or at least 9 times the expenditure of other political parties.
In comparison, the Congress spent Rs 18 crore while Samajwadi Party (SP), JD(U) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) spent Rs 15 crore, Rs 13 crore and Rs 4 crore, respectively, according to ADR report.
Overall, the total expenditure of all the political parties amounted to Rs 190 crore in the 2015 Bihar assembly elections.
At Rs 60 crore, publicity strategy of the BJP accounted for most of the campaign spend, which included Rs 40 crore on advertisements. Meanwhile, other publicity material such as banners, hoardings, etc, and public meetings were billed at Rs 10 crore and Rs 9 crore. Besides, the party also spent on covering the travel expenses and candidate expenditure heads.
In comparison, the Congress spent only Rs 2.5 crore on publicity while it splurged Rs 8 crore on its candidates and spent around Rs 7 crore on travel. The Grand Old Party bore a Rs 6-crore bill for the travel of its star candidates, and Rs 51 lakh on party leaders.
Taking a leaf out of the BJP’s book, JD(U) spent Rs 9.7 crore out of Rs 13 crore on publicity while Rs 3 crore was allotted for travel expenses. The party spent most of the Rs 9.7-crore publicity spend on materials such as posters, banners, badges, arches, gates, cut-outs, hoardings, and flags.
In stark contrast, the SP spent only Rs 57 lakh on poll publicity, setting aside Rs 6.8 crore on the transportation of its star candidates and Rs 5.1 crore for other candidate-related overheads.
Meanwhile, BSP spent Rs 1 crore each on publicity on travel and publicity, and the rest to pay its candidate-related expenses.