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BJP’s Bengal Election Spending Draws Fresh Opposition Questions
The Bharatiya Janata Party said it spent ₹286.99 crore during the Bengal elections.
This was more than half of what it spent across all the states and the Union territory where it contested elections.
Much of the money paid for general campaigning, rallies, and candidates.
Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were among the senior leaders who campaigned heavily in Bengal.
The article says the BJP won 207 of Bengal’s 294 Assembly seats.
Trinamool Congress leaders said the large spending showed that the BJP was anxious to win Bengal.
Congress leaders questioned where the BJP got its money and linked it to crony capitalism.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the BJP had copied and expanded a spending pattern it attributed to Trinamool Congress.
The Bharatiya Janata Party reported spending ₹286.99 crore in the Bengal Assembly elections.
Bengal accounted for about 54% of the BJP’s ₹529.38 crore expenditure across four states and Puducherry.
The BJP spent ₹217.16 crore on general campaigning and ₹69.83 crore on candidates in Bengal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held at least 14 rallies and roadshows, while Amit Shah spent days campaigning in the state.
Opposition parties questioned the spending, alleging desperation, crony capitalism, and the escalation of money power in elections.
- Who
- The Bharatiya Janata Party, Trinamool Congress, Congress, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) are the main parties discussed; Narendra Modi and Amit Shah led BJP campaigning.
- What
- The BJP’s reported ₹286.99 crore expenditure in the Bengal Assembly elections has prompted opposition criticism.
- Where
- West Bengal, as part of elections held in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
- When
- During the recent Bengal Assembly elections; the article does not provide the election year.
- Why
- The BJP sought to win Bengal, while opposition parties questioned the scale and sources of its campaign spending.
Opposition concerns
BJP campaign rationale
Scale of spending
Opposition concerns
Trinamool Congress, Congress, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) portrayed the spending as excessive and linked it to desperation or an escalation of money power.
BJP campaign rationale
The BJP’s reported filings show the expenditure, while its campaign strategy involved rallies, physical meetings, and social media efforts aimed at winning Bengal.
Source of funds
Opposition concerns
Congress alleged that crony capitalism enabled the BJP to obtain large sums from a few capitalists; Trinamool and the CPM also questioned the political use of money.
BJP campaign rationale
The article does not report a BJP response addressing the opposition’s allegations about the source of its funds.
Political purpose
Opposition concerns
Trinamool said the spending formed part of a conspiracy to remove the Mamata Banerjee government, while Congress said Bengal’s importance, including its 42 Lok Sabha seats, made it a major BJP target.
BJP campaign rationale
The BJP openly targeted forming a government in Bengal, the home state associated in its campaign with Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the Jana Sangh’s founder.
Key facts
- BJP Bengal expenditure
- ₹286.99 crore
- BJP total expenditure
- ₹529.38 crore across four states and Puducherry
- Bengal campaigning
- ₹217.16 crore for general campaigning
- Bengal candidates
- ₹69.83 crore spent on candidates
- BJP rallies
- Narendra Modi held at least 14 rallies and roadshows
- Congress Bengal expenditure
- ₹42.08 crore; the party won two seats
- CPM Bengal expenditure
- Around ₹8.23 crore; the party won one seat
Quotes
Sujan Chakraborty
CPM central committee member
“The practice of using huge amounts of money in elections was introduced by Trinamool in Bengal. They used hefty amounts as part of their electoral machinery to defeat the Opposition. Now the BJP has followed the same path and escalated the spending by a few notches.”
telegraphindia.com
“The major question is: from where does the BJP get so much money to use in elections? Because their policy of crony capitalism has given opportunities to a few capitalists, from whom they get the money easily.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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