BJP Election Spending In West Bengal Surpasses Congress Outlay Across Five Assemblies, Election Commission Disclosures Reveal

PTI, Sep 24, 2026, New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent Rs 286.99 crore on the West Bengal assembly elections alone, exceeding the Rs 248.55 crore that the Indian National Congress spent across four states and one Union Territory that went to the polls earlier this year, according to official expenditure statements filed with the Election Commission of India.

West Bengal accounted for more than half of the BJP's total Rs 529.38-crore outlay across the five assembly elections, with the remaining campaigns taking place in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. The party allocated Rs 217.16 crore towards general campaigning across West Bengal and distributed Rs 69.83 crore directly to candidates.

In that electoral contest, the BJP ousted the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and assumed power for the first time in West Bengal, securing 207 of the 293 seats for which results were declared, compared to 80 seats won by the TMC.

The Congress, which contested 293 seats independently despite maintaining a marginal presence in the state, secured two seats. The party reported an expenditure of Rs 42.08 crore in West Bengal through its central headquarters and state unit, comprising Rs 12.96 crore on general campaigning and Rs 29.12 crore on candidate funding and related operations.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], which governed West Bengal for over three decades prior to 2011, contested 197 seats and won one. Its state unit registered an expenditure of Rs 8.23 crore, inclusive of candidate allocations.

The formal expenditure statement of the Trinamool Congress, which served as the BJP's principal opponent in West Bengal, has not yet been placed in the public domain by the commission.

Kerala presented a distinct contrast based on the financial disclosures submitted by the political parties. In that state, the Congress-led United Democratic Front displaced the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, with the Congress winning 63 seats, the CPI(M) securing 26, and the BJP claiming three.

The Congress expended Rs 105.34 crore in Kerala through its central headquarters and state committee, surpassing the BJP's outlay of Rs 82.67 crore. Within the Congress expenditure, Rs 71.30 crore was directed towards general campaign publicity, while Rs 34.05 crore was earmarked for candidates and operational logistics.

The BJP declared an expenditure of Rs 54.93 crore on general campaigning in Kerala, alongside Rs 27.74 crore provided to its candidates.

The CPI(M), representing a major political force in Kerala, disclosed total spending of Rs 28.60 crore via its state committee, comprising Rs 26.30 crore on public campaigning and Rs 2.31 crore on candidate assistance.

Taking all five assembly elections into account, the Congress reported deploying Rs 143 crore for general party campaigning and Rs 105.55 crore directly on candidates, bringing its consolidated expenditure to Rs 248.55 crore. The CPI(M)'s consolidated national spending across the state elections stood at Rs 39.04 crore.

Elsewhere during the cycle, the BJP reported expenditures of Rs 96.27 crore in Assam, Rs 51.56 crore in Tamil Nadu, and Rs 11.90 crore in Puducherry, in addition to its allocations in West Bengal and Kerala.

Earlier financial submissions revealed that the BJP's central headquarters received Rs 1,472.8 crore in contributions over the election period, whereas the Congress declared receipts of Rs 207.17 crore across its central office and five state units.

The BJP central office concluded the campaign window with a closing cash balance of Rs 7,627.2 crore, up from Rs 6,722.6 crore when the elections were first notified. Over the identical timeframe, the Congress' combined operational balance across its national headquarters and five state committees contracted from approximately Rs 169.06 crore to Rs 103.2 crore.