'Previous BJP govt in MP spent Rs 753 cr on ads ahead of

The erstwhile BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had spent about Rs 753 crore on advertisements in print and electronic media during a period of 34 months preceding the assembly elections held in November 2018, the Legislative Assembly was told Tuesday.

Submitting a written reply to a question by Congress MLA Vinay Saxena, Chief Minister Kamal Nath provided the details of the spend, which pertains to the period between January 1, 2016 and November 10, 2018.

Nath also holds Public Relations portfolio in the Congress-led government.

"The advertisements worth Rs 753.57 crore were provided through Public Relations Department and another government agency 'Madhya Pradesh Madhyam'. The PR department provided advertisements worth Rs 700.17 crore during this period to the print and electronic media. Of this, the advertisements worth Rs 483.83 crore and Rs 172.58 crore were given to print and electronic media, respectively.

"Besides, advertisements worth Rs 20.72 crore were given to the news websites. An amount of Rs 23.04 crore was spent on advertisements for souvenirs," it stated.

Nath stated that Madhya Pradesh Madhyam provided advertisements worth Rs 53.40 crore to these mediums in the given period.

"Of this, Rs 7.17-crore and Rs 46.23 crore were spent on advertisements to electronic and print media, respectively, in the given period," as per the reply.

The CM also informed that the Madhya Pradesh Madhyam spent Rs 6.55 crore on making news capsules and advertisement clips in the given period.

In the elections held in November last year, the Congress won more number of seats (114) than the BJP (109) which was at the helm for the last 15 years, in the 230-member House.

The Congress then formed a coalition government with the support of the SP, the BSP and Independents.