NEW DELHI, 20 Jan: The ruling BJP is sitting on cash and deposits worth nearly Rs 10,000 crore, according to the party’s annual audit report submitted recently to the Election Commission.
In 2024-25, when the BJP wrested power in Delhi from the AAP and in Odisha from the BJD, its election propaganda expenses almost doubled to Rs 3,335.36 crore from Rs 1,754.06 crore in the previous year.
The BJP saw a net increase of Rs 2,882.32 crore in its cash and deposits in 2024-25.
The party’s accounts for the year that ended on 31 March, 2025, showed a general fund closing balance of Rs 12,164 crore as against Rs 9,169 crore in the previous year, the report stated.
The general fund includes Rs 9,996 crore in cash and bank deposits, and Rs 234.11 crore as loans and advances given by the party.
This corpus will now be inherited by the newly appointed BJP president Nitin Nabin, who took charge on Tuesday.
During 2024-25, the BJP received voluntary contributions to the tune of Rs 6,125 crore, swelling from the previous year’s Rs 3,967 crore, according to the report.
With fixed deposits worth Rs 9,390 crore, the BJP also received a total of Rs 634 crore as interest from banks on its deposits in 2024-25.
The BJP filed an income tax refund of Rs 65.92 crore in 2024-25 and received an interest income of Rs 4.40 crore on it.
The party’s election expenditure accounted for 88.36 percent of its total expenditure in 2024-25.
Of the total expenditure of Rs 3,335.36 crore incurred on elections in 2024-25, the BJP spent Rs 312.9 crore on providing financial assistance to its candidates and Rs 583 crore on travel in aircraft and helicopters.
Rs 1,125 crore was spent on electronic media for advertisement and election propaganda during elections; Rs 107 crore on cutouts, hoardings and banners; and Rs 123 crore on printed material.
Rs 897 crore was spent on advertisements, Rs 90.93 crore on rallies and campaigns, and Rs 51.72 crore on meeting expenses, according to the report. (PTI)
