Himachal’s Congress govt spent twice as much on ads as previous BJP govt did in 2 years

Wondering how a change in government can financially affect the media?

We’ve got the answers from one of India’s smallest states – Himachal Pradesh.

From January 2023 to February 2025, The Tribune newspaper received Rs 48.04 lakh in advertisements from the Congress-led government in the state. Under the previous BJP government, it got zero. 

Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar also had a dry spell – zero, to be precise – under the BJP government before bagging Rs 35.59 lakh in ads from the Congress government in the same time period. And Dainik Jagran’s ad revenue spiked from a paltry Rs 73,203 to Rs 32.02 lakh. 

Data from the state Information and Public Relations department indicates that between 2017 and 2022, the BJP spent Rs 2.98 crore on ads in the media. The Congress spent Rs 7.29 crore from 2023 to February 2025. 

That’s a total of Rs 10.27 crore distributed across 117 news websites and print publications. Himachal’s ad expenditure pales when compared with its neighbouring state, Uttarakhand, which splurged over Rs 1,000 crore in the last five years. One reason could be that Himachal has a debt exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore and one of the highest debt-to-GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) ratios in the country.

According to the government data, 75 organisations out of 117 received more under the Congress government than under the BJP. Forty-one got less. One – Janwakta News – got the same. 

Importantly, this story can only compare data from the BJP’s full five-year term with just two years of the Congress so far. 

Let’s break it down. 

Some winners, some losers 

Three newspapers – National Herald, The Tribune and Dainik Bhaskar – were the top gainers from the Congress coming to power in Himachal. 

National Herald, which the Congress party backs, received nothing in ads from the previous BJP government. When the government changed, it got Rs 97.9 lakh between January 2023 and February 2025. 

This didn’t pass unnoticed. In April this year, the BJP attacked the Congress government for “misusing” public money by giving ads to the National Herald. The Congress hit back, accusing the BJP of favouring media houses linked to the RSS – allegedly to the tune of nearly Rs 3 crore – when it had been in power. 

Congress CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also offered up this defence: “National Herald is our paper, and we will keep giving advertisements to it in plenty.” 

Other papers saw a spike in revenue too. Punjab Kesari received Rs 76.56 lakh from the BJP and then Rs 1.47 crore from the Congress. Amar Ujala’s ad revenue jumped from Rs 32.46 lakh to Rs 55.48 lakh in the same time period, while Himachal Dastak’s ad revenue moved from over Rs 6 lakh to Rs 46.14 lakh. 

It’s worth noting that The Times of India is one of the newspapers that have received less so far under the Congress than the BJP – Rs 10.92 lakh versus Rs 16.54 lakh under the previous administration. So did Dainik Savera, whose government ad revenue fell from Rs 57.5 lakh to Rs 33.15 lakh. Hindustan Times received Rs 28.36 lakh in ads from the previous BJP government versus Rs 23.32 lakh from the current Congress government. 

Of course, it’s early days since the Congress has about two more years in power. 

A quick summary of the top earners

Across the seven-year period since 2017, Punjab Kesari received the highest at Rs 2.23 crore, followed by Congress-backed National Herald with Rs 97.9 lakh, Dainik Savera (Rs 90.66 lakh), Amar Ujala (Rs 87.95 lakh), Divya Himachal (Rs 52.19 lakh), Hindustan Times (Rs 51.69 lakh), The Tribune (Rs 48.04 lakh), Himachal Dastak (Rs 39.68 lakh), Dainik Jagran (Rs 32.76 lakh) and Dainik Bhaskar (Rs 31.59 lakh).

Under the BJP government, Punjab Kesari received Rs 74.26 lakh, followed by Dainik Severa (Rs 57.50 lakh), Amar Ujala (Rs 32.46 lakh), Hindustan Times (Rs 28.36 lakh), Times of India (Rs 16.54 lakh), Democracy Himachal (Rs 6.37 lakh), Divya Himachal (Rs 6.04 lakh), Pioneer (Rs 5.43 lakh) and Arth Prakesh (Rs 5.2 lakh).

The pecking order has undergone a slight change since Congress was voted to power. The Congress government gave the highest ad revenue to Punjab Kesari (Rs 1.47 cr), followed by National Herald (Rs 97.9 lakh), Amar Ujala (Rs 55.48 lakh), The Tribune (Rs 48.04 lakh), Divya Himachal (Rs 46.14 lakh), Himachal Dastak (Rs 38.41 lakh), Dainik Severa (Rs 33.15 lakh), Dainik Jagran (Rs 32.02 lakh), Dainik Bhaskar (Rs 31.59 lakh).

BJP spent more on TV, radio

Separately, across TV, radio, and outdoor publicity, both governments have spent Rs 37.78 lakh on 20 outlets. Data shows that the Congress government has spent far less so far: Rs 5.01 lakh in two years. The BJP, meanwhile, spent Rs 32.77 lakh in its tenure. 

TV9 Bharatvarsh was the highest recipient at Rs 11.52 lakh, followed by Doordarshan at Rs 6.18 lakh. Interestingly, Congress has not given ads to both so far. The Congress government favoured TV channels such as PTC News, Janta TV, MH1 News and Khabrain Abhi Tak. 

Complaining about the media is easy. Why not do something to make it better? Support independent media and subscribe to Newslaundry today.