The Congress was the biggest spender among all political parties during the 2008 Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. The party alone spent Rs.102.56 crore out of the total Rs.136.88 crore spent by all political parties in these elections.

The analysis of the poll expenditure details submitted by the parties to the Election Commission was done by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

According to the analysis, the BJP declared that it did not spend any money on publicity or travel during these elections. The Nationalist Congress Party is the only national party which did not submit its expenditure details, while the National Conference is the only regional party to submit its expenditure details. The total funds collected by national parties during the 2008 polls were Rs.182.12 crore.

While highlighting that the preferred mode of expenditure by the parties was through cheques or demand drafts, the ADR has demanded more transparency in the finances of political parties, especially during elections. The Congress got 93.43 per cent of the Rs.81.92 crore received by it in cash, while the BJP got 85.60 per cent of the Rs.14.44 crore it collected in cash. Interestingly, the Bahujan Samaj Party received all its funds — Rs. 76.20 crore — in cash.