BJP got best returns on Bihar poll investments. Cong lost 30% of its stakes

The BJP's expenditure report to the Election Commission for the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls reveals that with a marginal spending of its Rs 7,000-crore reserves, it managed to bag 89 seats. The Congress, despite spending 28% of its reserves, could manage to win just six seats.

Elections have a financial aspect to them. It's perhaps as risky as the bets made in stock markets. While parties pour money into poll campaigns, the returns at the ballot box are subject to voter sentiment. In one such recent bet in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears to have gained big. In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the balance sheet shows that the BJP spent the most money overall, but barely scratched into its massive reserves.

The Congress, on the other hand, spent a smaller amount but put a much larger share of its limited funds at stake. Despite spending 28% of its reserves, it won just six seats.

Nearly four months after the election results were declared, political parties have submitted their expenditure statements to the Election Commission of India. The disclosures revealed how much each party spent to woo voters in Bihar.

According to the report submitted to the EC on February 10, the BJP spent Rs 146.71 crore during the 2025 Bihar Assembly election campaign — the highest among the parties that have disclosed their spending so far.

The Congress, which lost badly in Bihar, spent Rs 35.07 crore on the Bihar polls.

When one looks at the reserves of the two of the biggest parties in Bihar, it shows that the Congress spent 28% of the party's available funds. Meanwhile, the BJP spent only 2% of its total funds.