Details of expenditure of Patna candidates in Bihar elections have come to light. RJD candidates were both at the forefront and at the back in expenditure. The RJD candidate from Fatuha spent the maximum of Rs 17.56 lakh, while the RJD candidate from Maner spent the minimum of Rs 3.49 lakh.
After the campaign for the Bihar Assembly elections 2025 ended on Tuesday, the details of the money spent by the candidates of all the seats in Patna district in the elections have been handed over to the Expenditure Cell of the district administration. These expenditure figures are shocking, which show that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidates have set a record for both the most generosity and the most ‘miser’ in terms of spending.
Despite the maximum limit of election expenditure being set at ₹40 lakh, the expenditure of many candidates in Patna district remained less than a quarter of the prescribed limit, raising questions on the role of expenditure in election strategy.
RJD’s ‘spending’ and ‘miser’ face
In Patna district, both the leadership of election expenditure and the record of lowest expenditure remained in the name of RJD.
- Most Expenditure (RJD): RJD candidate from Fatuha assembly seat, Dr. Ramanand Yadav spent Rs 17.56 lakh in his campaign. This amount is the highest among all the candidates in the district and makes it clear that he left no stone unturned in the campaign.
- Lowest Expense (RJD): On the contrary, RJD candidate Bhai Virendra from Maner Assembly seat showed the most ‘miseriness’ in spending. His total election expenditure was recorded at only Rs 3.49 lakh.
Thus, a huge difference of about Rs 14 lakh has come to light between the expenditure of two leading candidates of the same party.
Election budget of major candidates
The expenditure of veterans on many important seats of Patna district has also become public. Among the biggest spenders, after Ramanand Yadav of Fatuha, the name of Ritesh Ranjan Singh (Bittu) of Jan Suraj from Digha Assembly is included.
- Ramkripal Yadav, the famous BJP candidate from Danapur assembly seat, spent Rs 13.26 lakh on his campaign.
- RJD’s Rekha Devi’s expenditure from Masaurhi was also quite high. He spent Rs 13.68 lakh.
- JDU’s prominent candidate from Mokama, Anant Singh, spent Rs 10.84 lakh in the election campaign.
- RJD’s Karanveer Singh Yadav showed an expenditure of Rs 12.71 lakh due to floods.
- BJP’s Dr. Sanjeev Chaurasia from Digha spent Rs 9.11 lakh, while Jan Suraj’s Ritesh Ranjan Singh (Bittu) from the same seat spent Rs 14.36 lakh and made it to the top-spenders of the district.
- BJP’s Nitin Naveen from Bankipur spent Rs 8.06 lakh and JDU’s Shyam Rajak from Phulwari spent Rs 7.91 lakh.
Rules of monitoring and transparency
The district administration had strictly monitored the expenditure of the candidates through flying squads and video surveillance teams. According to the rules, it was mandatory for the candidates to submit details of their expenses every day.
- During the campaign, cash payment up to Rs 10,000 was allowed only.
- Expenditure above Rs 200 required a GST bill, while smaller expenses could be shown through a raw bill.
- Candidates had to use three different colored registers to record bank accounts, cash transactions and general expenses.