The BJP alone accounted for more than 45 per cent of the expenditure of 22 major parties in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the four assembly elections held alongside them. According to a report prepared by Venkatesh Nayak, director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and RTI activist, the balance sheets released after the elections showed that six parties, including the BJP and the CPI(M), had increased their funds. According to the report, this shows that the six parties spent less money in the elections than they collected, but if we include the large amount of hidden expenses and hidden items seized during the elections, it is difficult to ascertain how much money the parties spent.
An analysis of the expenditure reports submitted by political parties to the Election Commission of India after the Lok Sabha elections and the Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh assembly elections has revealed that the BJP has been spending the most since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. According to the report, 22 parties had Rs 18,742 crore 31 lakh to spend in the elections. This includes the amount they had before the announcement of the elections and the donations collected during the elections. In total, the parties spent Rs 3861 crore 57 lakh during the election campaign. From the announcement of the elections to the completion of the elections, the parties collected Rs 7416 crore 31 lakh. Out of this, 84.5 percent of the donations went to the BJP alone. The BJP spent a total of Rs 1737 crore 68 lakh in the elections. Out of this, Rs 41 crore one lakh was spent in the four assembly elections. At the beginning of the elections, the BJP’s coffers were Rs 5921.81 crore and by the end of the elections, it had increased to Rs 10107 crore, an increase of more than Rs 4185 crore.
The report also notes that the flying squads seized two and a half times more goods (liquor, drugs and money, etc.) than the money spent by the 22 parties during the election campaign. It can be easily estimated that how much more money must have been hidden from the eyes of the flying squads to influence the voters.
The report says that if one party collects almost half the donations and then spends them on a large scale, how can other parties compete with it? This reality raises a question mark on the fairness of the elections. Therefore, there is an urgent need to consider options such as state election funding and fixing an upper limit on donations to political parties, so that the playing field is the same for all.
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