New Delhi, September 24, 2026: The BJP spent Rs 286.99 crore on the West Bengal Assembly election, more than the Rs 248.55 crore the Congress spent across four states and the Union territory of Puducherry that went to polls earlier this year, according to expenditure statements filed with the Election Commission.
West Bengal alone accounted for more than half of the BJP’s total expenditure of Rs 529.38 crore across the five elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Of its Bengal expenditure, the party spent Rs 217.16 crore on general campaigning and Rs 69.83 crore on candidates. The scale of the spending underlines how heavily the BJP invested in a state where it was seeking power for the first time.
Bengal Gets The Biggest Share
The BJP’s investment in West Bengal was accompanied by a decisive electoral result. The party ousted the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and came to power in the state for the first time, winning 207 of the 293 seats for which results were declared. The TMC won 80 seats.
The Congress contested 293 seats independently but won only two. According to its filings, the party spent Rs 42.08 crore in Bengal through its central headquarters and state unit. Of this, Rs 12.96 crore went towards general campaigning and Rs 29.12 crore towards candidates and related expenses.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), which ruled West Bengal for decades before losing power in 2011, contested 197 seats and won one. Its state unit reported expenditure of Rs 8.23 crore, including spending on candidates.
The expenditure statement of the TMC, the BJP’s principal rival in West Bengal, has not yet been made public.
Congress Outspends BJP In Kerala
Kerala presented a different picture. The Congress-led alliance displaced the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, with the Congress winning 63 seats and the CPI(M) 26. The BJP won three seats.
The Congress spent Rs 105.34 crore in Kerala through its headquarters and state unit, exceeding the BJP’s expenditure of Rs 82.67 crore. Of the Congress outlay, Rs 71.30 crore went towards general campaigning and Rs 34.05 crore towards candidates and related expenses, PTI reports.
The BJP reported spending Rs 54.93 crore on general campaigning in Kerala and Rs 27.74 crore on candidates. The CPI(M)’s state unit reported expenditure of Rs 28.60 crore, including Rs 26.30 crore on general campaigning and Rs 2.31 crore on candidates.
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Across the five elections, the Congress reported spending Rs 143 crore on general campaigning and Rs 105.55 crore on candidates, taking its total expenditure to Rs 248.55 crore. The CPI(M)’s consolidated expenditure stood at Rs 39.04 crore.
The BJP, meanwhile, reported expenditure of Rs 96.27 crore in Assam, Rs 51.56 crore in Tamil Nadu and Rs 11.90 crore in Puducherry, apart from its spending in West Bengal and Kerala. Taken together, the figures show the sharp difference in the financial scale of the parties’ campaigns, particularly in West Bengal.
Party Coffers Show A Wide Gap
Earlier filings showed that the BJP’s central headquarters received Rs 1,472.8 crore during the election period. The Congress reported receipts of Rs 207.17 crore across its headquarters and five state units.
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The BJP’s central office ended the election period with Rs 7,627.2 crore, compared with Rs 6,722.6 crore when the polls were announced. The Congress’ combined balance across its headquarters and five state units, in contrast, fell from about Rs 169.06 crore to Rs 103.2 crore during the same period. The figures highlight the substantial difference in the financial resources available to the two national parties during the election cycle.
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