Analysis of Funds Collected and Expenditure Incurred by National Political Parties – Lok Sabha 2004, 2009 & 2014

Executive Summary

 Details provided in the Election Expenditure Statement
  • 13th August, 2014 was the last date of filing of election expenditure statements of National Parties which was 90 days from 16thMay on which the election results were declared.
  • Based on the information available on the website of the Election Commission of India, the ECI received the expenditure statements of INC on22nd Dec,’14, BJP on 12th Jan,’15 , BSP on 8th Aug,’14, NCP on 22nd Aug,’14, CPI on 27th Oct,’14and CPM’s expenditure statements on 25th Aug,’14.
  • It is to be noted that while BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI and CPM submitted their expenditure statements with details of only Lok Sabha elections, 2014, the expenditure statement of INC included details of elections to Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha Assemblies. As the details were not segregated by INC, the information is taken as is submitted by the party.
  • Similarly, for Lok Sabha elections, 2004, the expenditure statements of BSP, CPI and CPM contained details of expenditure incurred during Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Sikkim Assembly Elections. The complete information as submitted by the National Parties have been taken into consideration during the preparation of this report.
 
Funds collected by National Parties during the Lok Sabha elections:
  • The National parties considered for the report are BJP, INC, BSP, NCP, CPI, and CPM.
  • Total funds collected by the National Parties, in cash, cheque/DD or in kind, during Lok Sabha elections held in 2004 was Rs 223.80 crores while during Lok Sabha 2009 elections increased by 282%, to Rs 854.89 crores.
  • The total funds collected by the National Parties during Lok Sabha 2014 elections increased by 35.53%, to Rs 1158.59 crores from Rs 854.89 crores during Lok Sabha 2009.
  • Over a period of 10 years, the funds collected by National Parties during Lok Sabha elections increased by 418%.
Funds collected by National Parties during the Lok Sabha elections, 2014:
  • BJP declared the highest amount of funds collected during Lok Sabha elections, 2014. The party declared collecting Rs 588.45 crores over 75 days of election period.
  • INC declared the second highest amount of Rs 350.39 crores followed by NCP with Rs 77.85 crores and BSP with Rs 77.26 crores.
  • CPI declared the least funds collected (Rs 9.52 crores) during the 75 days of election period.
Expenditure incurred by National Parties during the Lok Sabha elections:
  • Total expenditure incurred by the National Parties, in cash or cheque/DD, during Lok Sabha elections held in 2004 was Rs 269.42 crores while during Lok Sabha 2009 elections, it increased by 225%, to Rs 875.81 crores.
  • The total expenditure of the National Parties during Lok Sabha 2014 elections increased by 49.43%, to Rs 1308.75 crores from Rs 875.81 crores during Lok Sabha 2009.
  • Over a period of 10 years, the expenditure incurred by National Parties during Lok Sabha elections increased by 386%.
Expenditure incurred by National Parties during the Lok Sabha elections, 2014:
  • BJP declared the highest amount of expenditure incurred during Lok Sabha elections, 2014. The party declared expenses of Rs 712.48 crores over 75 days of election period.
  • INC declared the second highest amount of Rs 486.21 crores followed by NCP with Rs 64.48 crores and BSP with Rs 30.06 crores.
  • CPI declared the least amount of election expenditure (Rs 6.72 crores) during the 75 days of election period.
Expenditure of Political Parties under various heads during Lok Sabha elections:
  • The main heads under which political parties declare their expenses are publicity, travel, other/ miscellaneous expenses and expenditure on candidates.
  • During Lok Sabha elections in 2004, 2009 and 2014 together National Parties spent 50.58% of their total expenditure onpublicity, 19.68% on travel expenses and 15.43% on candidates and 14.31% on other expenses.
  • During Lok Sabha elections, 2004, National Parties spent Rs 115.90 crores on publicity, Rs 34.57 crores on travels, Rs 50.715 crores on other expenses and Rs 60.364 crores on expenditure towards candidates.
  • During Lok Sabha elections, 2014, National Parties spent Rs 858.97 crores on publicity, Rs 311.8 crores on travels, Rs 104.28 crores on other expenses and Rs 311.47 crores on expenditure towards candidates.
  • In 10 years, expenditure on publicity increased by 641% while expenditure on travel increased by 802% and the declared expenditure on candidates increased by 416%.
Expenditure incurred under various heads during the Lok Sabha elections, 2014:
  • During Lok Sabha elections in 2014, BJP declared spending Rs 463.17 crores on publicity while INC spent Rs 346.41 crores, NCP – Rs 30.98 crores, BSP – Rs 12.75 crores, CPM – Rs 4.94 crores and CPI – Rs 0.72 crores.
  • BJP’s declared expenditure on travel (for leaders, workers and star campaigners) was Rs 159.15 crores while INC spent Rs 129.50 crores on travel. NCP – Rs 3.73 crores, BSP – Rs 17.31 crores, CPM – Rs 1.94 crores and CPI – Rs 0.17 crores.
  • BJP declared an equal amount of expenditure on candidates as that incurred on travel during Lok Sabha 2014 elections. The party spentRs 159.81 crores on its candidates while INC spent Rs 96.70 crores on its candidates.
Expenditure of National Parties on Publicity during Lok Sabha elections:
  • There are three main items listed under publicity expenditure: expense on media advertisement (print & electronic, bulk sms, cable, website, TV channels) publicity material (hoardings, posters, banners etc.), expenses on public meetings (processions, rallies etc.).
  • Expenditure of BJP on publicity increased from Rs 49.31 crores during Lok Sabha 2004 to Rs 180.87 crores during Lok Sabha 2009 and Rs 463.17 crores during Lok Sabha 2014. The party declared an overall increase of 839% in 10 years.
  • Expenditure of INC on publicity increased from Rs 62.77 crores during Lok Sabha 2004 to Rs 207.88 crores during Lok Sabha 2009 and Rs 346.41 crores during Lok Sabha 2014. The party declared an overall increase of 452% in 10 years.
Expenditure of National Parties on Publicity during Lok Sabha elections, 2014:
  • National Parties collectively spent Rs 661.26 crores (or 76.98%) on media advertisement, Rs 126.94 crores (or 14.78%) on public meetings and Rs 70.77 crores (or 8.24%) on publicity materials during Lok Sabha Elections, 2014.
  • BJP spent the maximum amount of Rs 342.36 crores on media advertisement followed by Rs 89.56 crores on public meetings andRs 31.35 crores on publicity materials.
  • INC spent the maximum amount of Rs 289.22 crores on media advertisement followed by Rs 33.08 crores on public meetings andRs 24.11 crores on publicity materials, while BSP spent Rs 6.59 crores on publicity materials and Rs 3.90 crores on media advertisement.

Recommendations of ADR

  • It must be made mandatory for all political parties to submit their statements of expenditure in the format given by the ECI, within the prescribed time limit. Political parties not submitting on time or in the prescribed format should be heavily penalized.
  • The details of all donors who contribute to national and regional parties exclusively for their election campaigns must be declared in the public domain irrespective of the amount donated.
  • A format similar to the donations report along with the date of donations, submitted to the ECI on an annual basis, has to be prescribed for the expenditure statement so as to bring in more transparency in the finances of the political parties especially during elections when it is said that black money plays a major role.
  • Similar to the shadow observers of the ECI for monitoring expenditure of candidates, there must also be observers for monitoring the expenditure of political parties.