BJP Emerges as Top Spender in Google Political Ads, Crosses Rs 100 Crore Mark: ReportThe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become the first political entity in India to surpass Rs 100 crore in political advertisements on Google and YouTube.
According to data from Google’s Ads Transparency report since May 2018, when Google began publishing this data, the BJP’s spending on promoting its digital campaigns has exceeded Rs 101 crore. This amount is equivalent to the combined spending of Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and the political advisory firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) during the same period.
The BJP’s share in Google ads between May 31, 2018, and April 25, 2024, constitutes approximately 26 percent of the total spending, which amounts to a substantial Rs 390 crore on ads categorised as “political” by Google. Interestingly, Google’s definition of political ads encompasses a wide range, including ads placed by news organisations, government publicity departments, and even commercial ads featuring actor-politicians.
During this period, the BJP published around 161,135 out of a total of 217,992 content pieces categorised as “political advertisement” by the search giant, capturing a significant 73 percent share. The party’s digital ad campaigns primarily targeted residents of key states, with notable spending in Karnataka (Rs 10.8 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 10.3 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 8.5 crore), Delhi (Rs 7.6 crore), Gujarat (Rs 7 crore), and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 6.8 crore).
Tamil Nadu emerged as the top target of political ads on Google overall, followed by states such as Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.
Opposition Parties Follow Behind
In comparison, the main opposition party, Congress, ranks second in terms of political spending on Google Ads and Google Display & Video 360, with a spending figure of over Rs 46 crore. Congress published 5,992 online advertisements during this period, representing just 3.7 percent of the BJP’s ads.
The grand old party’s ad campaigns were concentrated primarily in states such as Karnataka and Telangana, with a combined spending of Rs 9.6 crore for both states, while Rs 6.3 crore was spent for Madhya Pradesh.
The third-largest political advertiser on Google platforms is Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, DMK, with an expenditure of Rs 42 crore since May 2018. Outside of Tamil Nadu, the party spent Rs 14 lakh on digital ads in Karnataka and Rs 13 lakh in Kerala. Interestingly, political advisory firm Populus Empowerment Network has spent Rs 16.6 crore on behalf of DMK since February 2024.
Other key players in digital political advertising include the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (former Telangana Rashtra Samithi), political strategist Prashant Kishore’s Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC), with notable spending on state-specific campaigns. Expenditure of the BRS was found to be limited to the assembly elections held in November last year, amounting to Rs 12 crore.
Meanwhile, Kishore’s IPAC spent Rs 6.4 crore on Google ads for the YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) spent over Rs 4.8 crore in West Bengal.
Congress Leads In Ad Expenditure In Second Phase
The data further reveals that during the second phase of campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, political parties collectively spent at least Rs 14.7 crore on Google ads alone.
Congress led the ad expenditure during this period with Rs 5.7 crore between April 18 and April 24, followed closely by the BJP spending Rs 5.3 crore and Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party, YSR Congress, at Rs 1.76 crore, including IPAC spending Rs 6 lakh on its behalf.
The increased amounts indicate intensified digital campaigning efforts by the political parties as elections inched closer.