It has been revealed that the bank balance of the BJP was Rs 3,596 Cr as of March 2023. On the other hand, the bank balance in possession of the Congress party was a mere Rs 162 Cr. The revelation has stoked online debates, with many inclined to dislike the BJP painting the saffron party as dishonest and deeply corrupt.
On their part, sections of BJP sympathizers are of the view that a true picture doesn't emerge about the relative wealth and clout of the two national parties unless the Congress party's real estate strength is taken into consideration. It is believed that the Congress party is far stronger than the BJP on the real estate front. Also, as per many BJP supporters' allegations, the private property of the Gandhi family is many times more than what the BJP owns. They say that Sonia Gandhi is one of the richest politicians in the world.
Commentators are of the view that the 2024 elections are going to be an unequal contest because of how much BJP has in its bank accounts. "All the Opposition parties together can't match the money power of the BJP. And let us face it. Money does make a huge difference in elections," said Sumanth Raman.
A Twitter user, meanwhile, felt that full public funding of elections with a ban on private donations and an allocation based on previous vote shares will be proposed by political scientists, rightly or wrongly.
