Bhubaneswar: A whopping Rs 415.21 crore was spent by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on poll management and campaigning for party candidates in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha.
As per the statement of expenditure submitted by the regional party to the Election Commission (EC), gross expenditure for propaganda stood at around Rs 277 crore, while over Rs 138.21 crore was spent for campaigning.
The Naveen Patnaik-led party reported a balance of Rs 625 crore in its bank accounts following the twin elections.
Over Rs 25.46 crore was provided for the travel expenses of star campaigners, including BJD president Naveen Patnaik, former bureaucrat-turned-politician V K Pandian, and senior leaders Pranab Prakash Das, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, and Pranab Balabantaray.
The star campaigners made a total of 232 chopper trips during the electioneering. The statement showed that Pandian used aircraft and helicopters around 155 times, followed by 55 joint tours with Naveen Patnaik. Pranab made six trips, Atanu made three, and Balabantaray made one, while Naveen made only 11 trips alone.
A total of Rs 53.83 crore was disbursed by the party to its 147 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha candidates, in cash, demand drafts, or through RTGS/fund transfers.
Bhadrak Lok Sabha candidate Manjulata Mandal received the highest amount at Rs 66.23 lakh, followed by Koraput nominee Kausalya Hikaka at Rs 58.87 lakh, while Dilip Tirkey received the lowest amount at Rs 49.2 lakh. All other Lok Sabha candidates received Rs 50 lakh each.
Among Assembly candidates, Naveen received the lowest Rs 12.22 lakh for Hinjili constituency and Rs 21.7 lakh for Kantabanji. Other candidates received amounts averaging Rs 30 lakh.
The BJD spent a substantial amount of Rs 83.03 crore on social and digital media to boost its poll prospects. The expenses were made on virtual campaign through social media platforms, Apps, and other means by the regional party.
Similarly, the party spent around Rs 47.14 crore on media advertisements, including print and electronic media, bulk SMS, cable, website, and TV channel promotions by the state unit. Of this, Rs 34.52 crore was allocated for print advertisements, while electronic media expenses stood at Rs 12.62 crore.
Besides, the party spent Rs 32.65 crore on publicity materials, including posters, banners, badges, stickers, arch-gates, cutouts, hoardings, and flags. It also spent Rs 10.96 crore on public meetings, processions, and rallies.
Another Rs 21.88 crore was spent on various initiatives, including Rs 11.65 crore on video/audio footage, Rs 6.02 crore on pre-poll surveys, Rs 2.25 crore on post-poll surveys, and Rs 1.03 crore on wall painting.