Bharatiya Janata Party Allocates ₹102 Crore for Google-YouTube Ads: 73% Share in 5-Year Public Political Advertisements
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become the first Indian political party to spend over 100 crores on Google and YouTube for advertisements related to the Artificial Intelligence for India Development (AID). According to Google’s advertising transparency report, from May 31, 2018, to April 25, the BJP has spent 102 crores on advertisements.
BJP Dominates Google Ads in Recent Years
In the last five years, BJP’s share in Google advertisements has been approximately 26%. During this period, a total of 390 crores worth of political advertisements were published. Among these, a total of 2.17 million online advertisements were placed, of which 73% belonged to the BJP.
Top States for BJP’s Ad Spending
The BJP has allocated the highest ad spending in Karnataka with 10.8 crores. Following this, the party has allocated 10.3 crores for Uttar Pradesh, 8.5 crores for Rajasthan, and 7.6 crores for Delhi.
Congress Outspends BJP for Lok Sabha Elections 2024
During the second phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 (from April 19 to April 25), Congress has outspent BJP. Congress has published advertisements worth 5.7 crores, while BJP has published ads worth 5.3 crores.
Congress Leads in Southern States
The report suggests that Congress leads in online advertisements in southern states. The party holds the second position with 5992 online advertisements, spending 45 crores behind them. This accounts for only 3.7% of BJP’s ad expenditure.
Key Issues from the Report
The DMK, a ruling party in Tamil Nadu, holds the third position. They have spent 42 crores on online advertisements since 2018. Additionally, this year they have spent 16.6 crores, including expenses from the political consulting firm, Populus Empowerment Network.
Outside Tamil Nadu, DMK has spent 14 lakhs in Karnataka and 13 lakhs in Kerala on digital advertisements.
Political Strategist Prashant Kishor’s Indian Political Action Committee
The Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) led by political strategist Prashant Kishor has placed advertisements worth 11.2 crores for various parties.
