Kolkata, Sept. 24 -- West Bengal emerged as the biggest component of the BJP's election expenditure during the 2026 Assembly poll cycle, with the party spending nearly Rs 287 crore in the state - more than half of its total expenditure across five states.
According to expenditure statements available on the Election Commission's website, the BJP's central office spent
Rs 529.38 crore across West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Of this, Rs 286.99 crore was spent in Bengal alone, accounting for around 54 per cent of the total.
In Bengal, the BJP reported Rs 217.16 crore in general campaign expenditure and another Rs 69.83 crore towards candidates. The latter includes Rs 58.80 crore directly provided to candidates.
The scale of spending in Bengal was significantly larger than in the other four states. The party spent Rs 96.26 crore in Assam, Rs 82.67 crore in Kerala, Rs 51.56 crore in Tamil Nadu and Rs 11.89 crore in Puducherry, according to the filings.
The BJP's Bengal expenditure was also substantially higher than the Rs 27.65 crore reported by the Congress in the state, a difference of Rs 259.34 crore.
Across the five states, the BJP's reported expenditure stood at Rs 529.39 crore. The corresponding figures reported by other parties included Rs 197.85 crore by the DMK, Rs 112.40 crore by the AIADMK, Rs 95.52 crore by the Congress and Rs 39.04 crore by the CPI(M). The filings, however, cover different categories and jurisdictions.
The BJP received Rs 1,494 crore during the election period and ended the cycle with Rs 7,689.06 crore in bank balance and cash in hand.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.