What's the difference in bank balance between BJP and Congress? EC data reveals

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) owns a whopping cash and bank balance of ₹7,113.80 crore against the Congress's ₹857.15 crore as of March 31, 2024, PTI quoted Election Commission as saying.

The saffron party spent ₹1,754.06 crore during 2023-24 when Lok Sabha polls were announced, a 60 per cent rise than ₹1,092 crore spent in 2022-23.

On the other hand, the Congress spent ₹619.67 crore during 2023-24, against ₹192.56 crore in 2022-23. The Lok Sabha elections were announced on March 16, 2024, EC data revealed.

In the annual audit reports submitted to the EC, the BJP said it has received voluntary contributions through the now-banned electoral bonds of ₹1,685.69 crore during 2023-24, against ₹1294.15 crore in the previous year.

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The ruling party 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 having received total contributions of ₹1,225.11 crore during 2023-24, including ₹1129.67 crore through grants, donations and contributions.

This also includes ₹828.36 crore received through electoral bonds during the year ended March 31, 2024, which have now been banned by the Supreme Court.

BJP spent ₹591 crore in ads, ₹434.84 crore in electronic media

During the year, the BJP spent ₹591 crore in 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 in meeting expenses during 2024 and ₹75.14 crore in organising morchas, rallies, andolan and call centre expenses during 2023-24.

The Congress, on the other hand, spent as much as ₹207.94 crore on the electronic media and ₹43.73 crore on printed material during 2023-24, the EC data revealed.

The opposition party also spent ₹62.65 crore on aircraft/helicopters during 2023-24 and gave financial aid of ₹238.55 crore to its 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.

(With PTI inputs)