Top News

The BJP received nearly Rs 1,473 crore at its central headquarters alone during the last five state assembly elections, more than seven times the Rs 207 crore in net receipts reported by the Congress across its central and state units, according to expenditure statements filed with the Election Commission (EC).

The Congress, whose consolidated expenditure report for Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry was made public earlier, reported net receipts of Rs 207.17 crore and expenditure of Rs 248.55 crore during the March 15-May 6 election period.

The BJP’s Rs 1,472.8-crore figure, by contrast, represents receipts at its central headquarters alone during the same period, according to its expenditure statements made public by the EC.

The party’s expenditure reports for the Kerala and West Bengal polls are yet to be made public, meaning its consolidated receipts are likely to be higher.

The BJP also emerged from the election period with substantially more money at its central headquarters than it had at the start. Its closing balance rose to Rs 7,627.2 crore on May 6 from Rs 6,722.6 crore on March 15, an increase of Rs 904.6 crore during the poll period.

The Congress, on the other hand, saw its finances decline during the polls. Across its central headquarters and five state units, it began the election period with about Rs 169.06 crore — Rs 22.9 crore in cash and Rs 146.1 crore in bank accounts — and ended with about Rs 103.2 crore, a decline of Rs 65.86 crore.