The Congress followed closely with ₹620 crore, accounting for 18.5% of the total expenditures among the 32 regional and national parties reviewed, according to the ADR.
In total, these parties expended ₹3,352.81 crore during the Lok Sabha and concurrent Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim from March 16 to June 6, 2024.
National parties contributed over ₹2,204 crore (65.75%) of this expenditure. “Out of the total funds collected, national parties managed to accumulate ₹6,930.246 crore (93.08%), while regional parties gathered ₹515.32 crore (6.92%),” the report indicated.
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This analysis is derived from the required expenditure statements that political parties must file with the Election Commission (EC) within 90 days following a general election and 75 days after a state election. The ADR also noted considerable delays in submissions, with the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) report arriving 168 days late, and the BJP’s submissions arriving between 139 to 154 days late, depending on the state. Only the Congress provided a consolidated report covering both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Publicity expenses topped the list, with parties spending ₹2,008 crore, or over 53%, of their total declared expenditures on this category. Travel costs were next, totaling ₹795 crore, followed by ₹402 crore in lump-sum payments to candidates. Additionally, over ₹132 crore was allocated for virtual campaigns, while ₹28 crore was dedicated to disclosing the criminal backgrounds of their candidates.
Of the total expenditures on publicity across 32 political parties, ₹1,511.3004 crore, or 75.25%, was spent by national parties, and ₹496.99 crore, or 24.75%, by regional parties. Travel expenses were heavily skewed towards prominent campaigners. Of the ₹795 crore spent on travel, ₹765 crore (96.22%) was for high-profile party figures, leaving only ₹30 crore for other leaders.
The ADR raised several issues regarding transparency. Statements from 21 parties, including the NCP, CPI, JMM, and Shiv Sena (UBT), were missing from the EC’s website at the time the report was prepared.
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The expenditure statements of the RJD, LJP(RV), AJSU, and KC(M) for the 2024 Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Odisha are not available. Furthermore, two parties—the Jammu and Kashmir PDP and Kerala Congress (M)—reported zero expenditures despite participating in the elections.
The ADR reported that a total of 690 unrecognized political parties contested in the general elections last year, with one in Arunachal Pradesh, 74 in Andhra Pradesh, 35 in Odisha, and two in Sikkim participating in the simultaneous Assembly elections. The spending statements from these parties were not included in this report.
The report recommended that wherever feasible, expenditures should be restricted to transactions via cheques, demand drafts, or RTGS to minimize the reliance on black money in elections, in line with the transparency guidelines established by the EC. The ADR also urged the EC to appoint observers to oversee party expenditures, similar to those monitoring candidate spending.
