Chennai: DMK spent nearly ₹197 crore on the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, about ₹85 crore more than the AIADMK, which spent ₹112 crore, according to expenditure statements submitted by the parties to Election Commission of India. Ruling TVK, which contested all 234 Tamil Nadu seats and won 108, is yet to submit its expenditure statement to ECI.The expenditure statements show that DMK spent ₹47.95 crore directly on its candidates, who contested 175 seats. The rest of its expenditure went towards party-level campaign activities, advertisements, public meetings and the travel of star campaigners. It spent a little more than ₹2 crore for printing of manifesto booklets and publicity materials.AIADMK, on the other hand, spent ₹109 crore on general election propaganda and another ₹2.78 crore directly on its candidates contesting 172 seats. It spent ₹4.11 crore on preparing and printing copies of its election manifesto.Among other parties, BJP spent ₹51.56 crore on the elections, while NTK spent ₹93.29 lakh.The expenditure statements offer a glimpse of the financial resources the parties had at their disposal. DMK reported ₹319.39 crore as its closing bank balance after the campaign, while AIADMK had ₹295.98 crore.
