The BJP’s central headquarters received Rs 1,472.8 crore during the 2026 Assembly election cycle covering Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the party’s election expenditure statements submitted to the Election Commission (EC). This was more than seven times the Rs 207.17 crore in net receipts reported by the Congress across its central and state units, according to the party’s expenditure statements filed with the poll body.The Congress, whose consolidated expenditure report for Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry had come earlier, reported net receipts of Rs 207.17 crore and an expenditure of Rs 248.55 crore during the March 15-May 6 election period.The BJP’s closing balance, meanwhile, stood at Rs 7,627.2 crore on May 6, 2026, when the election process concluded, up from Rs 6,722.6 crore on March 15.The BJP, including its central headquarters and state and district units, reported a total expenditure of Rs 160 crore on the Assembly elections in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.Assam accounted for the highest spending at Rs 96.3 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu at Rs 51.6 crore and Puducherry at Rs 11.9 crore.In Assam, the BJP spent Rs 76.7 crore on general party propaganda, including Rs 23.1 crore by its central unit. Another Rs 19.5 crore was spent on candidates.The party spent Rs 27.3 crore on the travel of star campaigners, Rs 37 crore on advertisements, Rs 8.9 crore on publicity material and Rs 2.3 crore on other expenses.In Tamil Nadu, the party authorised Rs 44.5 crore for general party propaganda and spent another Rs 7 crore on candidates.The Election Commission has not yet made public the BJP’s expenditure statements for West Bengal and Kerala.On the other hand, the Congress’ finances saw a dip during the polls. Across its central headquarters and five state units, it began the election period with about Rs 169.06 crore (Rs 22.9 crore in cash and Rs 146.1 crore in bank accounts) and ended with about Rs 103.2 crore — a decline of Rs 65.86 crore.The Congress reported spending Rs 143 crore on general party propaganda and Rs 105.55 crore on candidates across all five states, taking its overall election expenditure to Rs 248.55 crore.The Congress central headquarters spent Rs 40.52 crore on general propaganda across the five states, while its state and local units spent another Rs 102.49 crore under this head. Kerala, where the party ousted the Left front from power, accounted for the biggest share of this expenditure at Rs 59.28 crore, followed by Assam at Rs 22.62 crore.