19 parties got Rs 1100 cr. for assembly polls this year, spent Rs 500 cr.

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Nineteen political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, received over Rs 1,100 crore during assembly polls in five states and Union territories in 2021 and spent over Rs 500 crore, a big chunk of which went towards advertisements and travel expenses for star campaigners, a study said on Friday.

The BJP received the highest amount of Rs 611.692 crore and spent Rs 252 crore during the assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry. Of the total, the party spent Rs 85.26 crore on publicity, including media advertisement, and Rs 61.73 crore on travel expenses of star campaigners and other leaders, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch said.

The Congress received the second-highest amount of Rs 193.77 crore and spent Rs 85.625 crore, including Rs 31.451 crore on publicity and Rs 20.40 towards travel expenses, it said. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which received the third-highest amount of Rs 134 crore, incurred a total expenditure of Rs 114.14 crore, with the party spending Rs 52.144 crore on publicity and Rs 2.414 crore towards travel expenses of its star campaigners and other leaders.