In numbers: 2019 Elections costliest ever; BJP spent 45% of it

New Delhi, June 05: Elections in the world's biggest democracy have become the most expensive too. The 2019 elections saw the expenditure up by nearly six times in 20 years (1998-2019) from Rs 9,000 crore to over Rs 55,000 crore.

According to a study by the Centre for Media Studies, the BJP accounts for nearly 45% of the total poll spending in 2019 as against 20% in 1998. The share of the Congress, which incurred 45% of the total expenditure in 2009, was 15-20% this time.