Overview
- Data from Google and Meta shows parties spent nearly Rs 50 crore on digital ads across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam, with the BJP topping Rs 40 crore and running about 50,000 ads.
- Bengal is the biggest battleground online, where BJP and TMC-linked accounts together spent about ₹31.57 crore on Google and Meta during the core campaign window.
- BJP’s Bengal pages drove ₹12.53 crore on Google and about ₹4.45 crore on Meta, while the TMC effort leaned on consultancy IPAC’s ₹10.55 crore on Google and a network of party and surrogate pages near ₹4.04 crore on Meta.
- The campaign styles differ by party, with BJP buying largely through official pages and heavier use of Google, while TMC, DMK and AIADMK depend more on Facebook and Instagram and on third-party booster pages.
- Watchdogs say the real totals are likely higher because platform tools miss some buys and India’s election rules lack a standard way to match party filings with spending by consultancies and surrogate accounts.