The BJP has made history by being the first Indian political party to surpass Rs 100 crore in advertising expenditure on Google and YouTube, according to a media report. Their digital campaign spending, totaling over Rs 101 crore, matches the combined spending of Congress, DMK, and I-PAC since May 2018, when Google began publishing its Ads Transparency report.
Between May 31, 2018, and April 25, 2024, the BJP accounted for approximately 26 percent of the total spending on Google ads categorized as “political,” totaling around Rs 390 crore, as per media report. It’s worth noting that Google’s definition of political ads is comprehensive, encompassing ads from news organizations, government publicity departments, and even commercial ads featuring actor-politicians.
Out of the total 217,992 content pieces categorized as “political advertisement” by Google, the BJP published over 161,000 (73% share) during this period. The party’s advertising efforts were predominantly aimed at residents of Karnataka, with spending totaling Rs 10.8 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh (Rs 10.3 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 8.5 crore), and Delhi (Rs 7.6 crore).
According to data from the transparency center, the Congress ranks second in political spending on Google Ads and Google Display & Video 360, with Rs 45 crore. The party published 5,992 online advertisements during this period, comprising just 3.7 percent of the BJP’s ads. Congress’ advertising efforts were mainly concentrated on Karnataka and Telangana (each with over Rs 9.6 crore spending) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 6.3 crore).
DMK, Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, emerges as the third-largest political advertiser on Google platforms, with a total spending of Rs 42 crore since May 2018. Notably, political advisory firm Populus Empowerment Network contributed Rs 16.6 crore on DMK’s behalf since February this year. Beyond Tamil Nadu, DMK allocated Rs 14 lakh and Rs 13 lakh for digital ads in Karnataka and Kerala respectively. Meanwhile, BRS’s ad expenditure on Google was focused on the November 2023 Assembly elections, totaling over Rs 12 crore, albeit unsuccessfully, as Congress secured victory.
