Media presence, travel cost dominate political parties’ poll expenses: EC audit report for 2023-24

Political parties spent on advertisements, helicopter rides and payments to media consultants in their 2023-24 spending, according to audited reports released by the Election Commission on Monday, providing insights into their expenditure patterns during a year of multiple state elections.

The reports likely capture only a part of the spending patterns for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the dates for which were announced on March 16. During this period, six states–Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram– held elections for their assemblies.

The BJP’s expenses of ₹1,754 crore indicated a strong focus on media presence, with nearly 58% spent on advertisements and electronic media. The party allocated ₹591.39 crore for advertising and publicity, while electronic media expenses touched ₹434.84 crore. Its press conference expenses rose to ₹90.99 lakh from ₹71.60 lakh in the previous year.

During that period – April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 — the party won assembly elections in three statesand lost Karnataka elections. It swept back to power in Lok Sabha as part of the National Democratic Alliance coalition but without a majority of its own, having won 240Lok Sabha seats.

In contrast, the Congress, with total election expenses of ₹619.67 crore, directed its spending towards ground operations. The party spent ₹238.54 crore on candidate support and ₹207.94 crore on electronic media - together accounting for 72% of its election budget.

The Congress could not retain Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, losing both to the BJP. However, it made inroads in Karnataka and Telangana. 

Regional parties showed distinctive spending patterns that reflect their electoral strategies. The Trinamool Congress spent ₹56.34 crore of its ₹81.74 crore budget on helicopter and aircraft expenses, while allocating ₹14.03 crore for hoardings and flags.

The Telugu Desam Party’s expenditure revealed a significant shift toward professional campaign management. The party spent ₹39.96 crore on media advisors from its ₹80.42 crore budget, a dramatic increase from ₹66.81 lakh in the previous year. It also allocated ₹15.60 crore for printed materials including posters, manifestos and leaflets, up from ₹15.10 lakh in FY23.

The spending patterns of smaller parties offer interesting contrasts. The AAP’s election expenses dropped sharply to ₹9.6 crore from ₹36.34 crore, with ₹2.1 crore spent on travel expenses and ₹1.09 crore on conducting surveys. Both BSP and SP prioritised air travel, spending ₹10.7 crore and ₹14.52 crore respectively on aircraft and helicopters, out of their total expenses of ₹23.47 crore and ₹19.14 crore.

The DMK’s focus on media spending - ₹145.27 crore out of ₹170.07 crore for print and electronic media expenses – was in sharp contrast to both its state rival AIADMK, which spent ₹17.22 crore mainly on administrative expenses out of its total ₹25.84 crore, and the modest expenditure by Left parties, with the CPI spending ₹23 lakh and the CPI(M) just ₹70,667.

Several parties showed significant changes in spending categories compared to the previous year. The JD(U)’s “other expenses” jumped from ₹8.85 lakh to ₹1.06 crore, while their overall spending decreased from ₹3.05 crore to ₹2.32 crore.

Chakshu Roy, who heads the legislative and civic engagement initiatives at PRS Legislative Research, said, “The extent of electoral expenditure by political parties raises the question whether the legislative intent of limiting the influence of money in elections is being served by putting the expenditure limit on candidates fighting elections.”