BJP again tops the political ad spend on Facebook In India

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the largest advertiser on the social media giant since 2018 , as concluded by FB spending tracker.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 27 August 2020 3:50 pm

Social Media Giant Facebook’s spending tracker has confirmed that BJP ( Bharatiya Janata Party) is among the top 10 spenders in this category (political ads) and other four advertisers also belong to the party , as they share the common address of Delhi's BJP headquarters.

The ruling BJP was the largest advertiser on Facebook in India on “social issues, elections and politics” over the last 18 months, spending over Rs 4.61 crore since February 2019, followed by the main opposition Congress party with Rs 1.84 crore, according to data available until August 24 on the social media giant’s spending tracker.

Taken together with the BJP, their ad spend totals Rs 10.17 crore, which is about 64 per cent of the total advertising (Rs 15.81 crore) by the top ten in this category. The period covered includes the general elections in April-May 2019, which saw the BJP return to power with an overwhelming majority.

According to Facebook, an ad is categorised under “social issues, elections and politics” if it is made by or on behalf of a candidate, political party or advocates an outcome; is about a particular election or referendum; is regulated by political advertising; or is about a local social issue.

Earlier, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report claimed that Facebook's top executive Ankhi Das "opposed applying hate-speech rules" to those linked with the BJP despite the fact that they were "flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence."

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the largest advertiser on the social media giant since 2018 , as concluded from FB spending tracker.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is by far the richest political party in India, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) , claimed in past. The ADR analysed the audited accounts of the BJP, and six other national parties, including the Congress, for 2016-17. The BJP claimed an income of Rs 10.03 billion, and an expenditure of Rs 7.1 billion during 2016-17.
In 2019 also, BJP was highest earner in FY19 at Rs 2,410 crore.