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BJP’s 2014 spend on Maharashtra, Haryana poll campaign was 4 times that of Congress: Report

The report, prepared by the Association for Democratic Reforms, comes days before Haryana and Maharashtra go to polls again.

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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shelled out Rs 217.68 crore for the 2014 Maharashtra and Haryana assembly election campaign, with the Congress’ expense a distant second at Rs 55.27 crore, according to a report of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released Thursday. 

The ADR report, which comes days before the two states go to polls again, is drawn from the audited accounts and contribution statements submitted by different political parties to the Income Tax department and the Election Commission of India. 

The statements provided information on funds collected and spent between the announcement and conclusion of elections. 

According to the report, a total expenditure of Rs 357.21 crore was made by 15 parties — six national and nine regional — for the 2014 Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections. The BJP spent 60.94 per cent of this amount. 

Three of the parties studied, the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Janata Dal United (JDU), declared no expenditure on the two elections despite contesting them, the report stated. When ThePrint asked ADR founder Jagdeep Chhokar how this was possible, he said the parties simply didn’t provide the information to either the Election Commission or the Income Tax Department.

The total funds collected by the 15 political parties during the 2014 Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections was Rs 464.5 crore, against a total expenditure of Rs 357 crore, the report stated. 

In Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spent Rs 41 crore, while the Shiv Sena shelled out Rs 18 crore. 

 

Political parties Expenditure incurred by political parties during Maharashtra Haryana
assembly elections 2014 (Rs cr)
Total expenses
Central headquarters State units
Maharashtra Haryana
BJP 151.37 65.1 1.21 Rs 217.68 cr
INC 8.27 35.97 11.03 Rs 55.27 cr
NCP 5.5 35.559 Rs 41.059 cr
SHS 17.94 0 Rs 17.94 cr
BSP 6.296 0 0 Rs 6.296 cr
SP 4.98 0 0 Rs 4.98 cr
MNS 4.959 0 Rs 4.959 cr
INLD 0 3.94 Rs 3.94 cr
HJC-BL 2.52 0 Rs 2.52 cr
CPI 2.247 0.014 0.0088 Rs 2.27 cr
CPM 0.013 0.052 0.234 Rs 0.299 cr
SAD 0.0046 0 Rs 0.0046 cr
AIFB 0 0 0 Rs 0
IUML 0 0 Rs 0
JDU 0 0 0 Rs 0
Total Rs 204.10 cr Rs 136.69 cr Rs 16.42 cr Rs 357.21 cr

 

Partywise expenditure under various heads (Rs cr): Maharashtra & Haryana assembly elections 2014
Party Publicity Travel expenses Others/Misc. expenses Lump sum amount paid to candidates
BJP 186.39 16.34 14.947 9.14
INC 41.19 13.97 0.0999 8.05
NCP 30.665 3.77 1.127 0
SHS 14.47 2.185 1.283 0
BSP 2.709 1.301 2.286 0
MNS 1.957 0.313 2.687 0
INLD 2.654 1.289 0 0
HJC-BL 0.317 2.1859 0.017 0
CPM 0.31 0.026 0.138 0.80
CPI 0.059 0.0086 0.0033 0.173
SP 0 0.005 0 0
SAD 0 0.002 0.0026 0
AIFB 0 0 0 0
IUML 0 0 0 0
JDU 0 0 0 0
Total Rs 280.72 cr Rs 41.40 cr Rs 22.59 cr Rs 18.16 cr

Source: ADR

BJP the biggest beneficiary of donations 

The BJP wasn’t just the biggest poll spender but also the biggest beneficiary of donations during the election season in question, receiving Rs 296.74 crore, while the Congress finished second with Rs 84.37 crore. 

While the NCP received Rs 38 crore, the BSP, the AIFB, the IUML and the JD(U) declared no funds received at their central and state headquarters. 

Highest spend on publicity 

The expense statement of each political party was divided under several heads, which showed that that each player dedicated the bulk of their budget, 77.36 per cent, to publicity (Rs 280 crore).

Publicity included media advertisements (including print, electronic, bulk SMSes, cable, website), besides posters, banners, stickers, badges, gates, hoardings, and public meetings. 

Travel expenses (Rs 41 crore) came next, with 98.7 per cent of this sum spent on star campaigners — Rs 21 crore in Maharashtra and Rs 1.6 crore in Haryana. 

Suggestions

The ADR has also made several suggestions in its 13-page report, including that political parties should submit their statements of expenditure in the format set by the Election Commission, within the prescribed time limit. Violators should be penalised, it added, noting that some parties had delayed the submissions. 

It also proposed that details of donors who contribute exclusively for election campaigns must be declared in the public domain, irrespective of the amount donated. 

“Wherever possible, expenditure must be limited to transactions via cheque/DD/RTGS so as to reduce the use of black money in elections as per the transparency guidelines issued by the ECI,” the report states. 


Also Read: Over Rs 400 crore of donations to national parties unaccounted for, BJP worst offender: ADR


 

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1 COMMENT

  1. So What. U don’t have any problem about the corrupt congress goons (includes u too along with Gupta)
    buying election with corrupt money along with Pawar, Honda’s, Stalin,Raj Shekar Reddy,Lallu, Yadav and
    the corrupt lady of UP. Don’t get sanctimonious u hypocrite.your days are numberbered as your corrupt
    pay masters are irrelevant as u are. Go get a regular 9 t9 5 job

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