BJP leads Bihar Assembly election ad spends with 38.7% of total ad volume: Report

Television emerged as the dominant medium for political advertisements during the 2020 Bihar Assembly Elections, accounting for 93% of total ad insertions, according to a report by TAM AdEx India. This significant figure meant that the remaining print media captured only a 7% share of political advertising activity during the measured period, which spanned from September 1, 2020, to November 7, 2020.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the single largest advertiser in terms of overall insertions across both media, contributing 38.7% of the total volume. In a concentrated campaign push in the run-up to the elections, the top four advertisers collectively accounted for nearly 85% of all political ad insertions. Following the BJP, the major advertisers were the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with 17.4% of ad insertion, the Congress with 17.0%, and the Rashtriya Jantadal (RJD) with 11.9%.

The emphasis on TV was reflected in the top advertiser rankings for that medium. The BJP led with 41.0% of the TV ad insertions. The NDA followed with 18.6%, and the Congress with 17.7%. Other parties included the RJD at 12.4% and the Jantadal United at 8.8% of the total TV insertions.

While representing a smaller overall volume, print advertising saw presence of party alliances among its top five advertisers. The alliance of Congress-I/RJD/CPI (Ml)/CPI/CPI (M) led print insertions with 15.7%, followed closely by the BJP/Jantadal United/VIP/HUM alliance at 14.1%. Single-party advertisers in Print included Jantadal United at 9.5%, the BJP at 8.9%, and the Congress at 7.1%.

The data suggests that the political parties contesting the Bihar Assembly Elections placed a decisive strategic emphasis on television advertising during the campaign period.