Political parties spent more than ₹72 crore on air campaigning in Bihar Assembly elections 2025. On an average, 25 helicopters flew from Patna every day and a total of more than 3,000 hours of flights were flown. This huge expenditure reflects the parties’ strong desire to win.
Patna: The noise about Bihar Assembly elections 2025 may have subsided and all eyes are on the results of November 14, but the details of the expenditure of political parties in this election season are shocking. To capture the power of the state, other parties including NDA and Grand Alliance made the sky a battlefield, due to which a huge amount of more than Rs 72 crore was spent only on helicopter and chopper publicity.
Unprecedented increase after October 16
Bihar Assembly elections were announced on 6 October, and the noise of the campaign came to an end on 9 November. According to the report, there was an unprecedented increase in flights at Patna Airport since October 16. NDA, Grand Alliance and other parties made extensive use of helicopters to reach remote areas of the state.
The shocking mathematics of air campaign
According to statistics, a huge increase in air traffic was recorded this election season.
- Total expenditure: Over ₹72 crore.
- Daily flights: An average of 25 helicopter flights were recorded daily from Patna airport.
- Total Movement: More than 600 helicopters and 40 choppers have flown during the campaign. More than 1,200 helicopter and 80 chopper movements, including landings and departures, were recorded.
- Total flying time: It is estimated that helicopters of political parties flew a total of more than 3,000 hours.
Cost of Rs 12 lakh per helicopter
According to political analysts, the expense of air campaign was quite expensive. During the campaign, approximately Rs 12 lakh including GST was spent on a helicopter per day. Each helicopter flew an average of 4 to 5 hours daily. This huge expenditure is an indication that all the parties did not want to leave any stone unturned to win the elections this time.
keeping an eye on election results
Political analysts say that in this election the helicopter and chopper campaign has given a new dimension to politics. However, which party got the real benefit of this ‘air publicity’ will become clear only after the results on November 14. Now all the politicians are waiting for November 14 to know in whose favor the election returns of this huge expenditure of more than Rs 72 crore go.