State polls: Chennai firm leads political ad spending, outpaces BJP in Google ad wars

Of the total ₹83.4 crore spent on Google political advertising in India over the past month, only ₹23 crore or 28% came directly from political parties

by Imran Fazal
Published: Apr 24, 2026 8:23 AM | 3 min read

India's digital political advertising landscape is shifting, with intermediaries, rather than political parties, becoming the primary buyers of media inventory; only 28% of the ₹83.4 crore spent on Google ads in a recent month came directly from political parties.
The Chennai-based Populus Empowerment Network (PEN) outspent all political parties, including the ruling BJP, with ₹31.1 crore in political ads, highlighting the growing influence of surrogate entities in campaign financing.
Video content dominates political advertising, accounting for 88.7% of total ad spend, indicating a significant shift towards data-driven and video-centric campaign strategies.
The concentration of ad spending is high, with about 10 entities controlling nearly 90% of political ad expenditures, reflecting a trend towards professionalization and outsourcing in political campaigning in India.

India’s digital political advertising landscape is undergoing a structural transformation, with intermediaries rather than political parties emerging as the dominant buyers of media inventory. Data from the Google Ads Transparency Center for the 30-day period between March 22 and April 23, 2026, shows that a Chennai-based firm, Populus Empowerment Network (PEN), has outspent all political parties on Google platforms, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

PEN, founded by V. Sabareesan—who is also the son-in-law of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin—spent ₹31.1 crore on political ads during the period. This is significantly higher than the BJP’s ₹21.3 crore and nearly 18 times the ₹1.69 crore spent by the Indian National Congress (INC).

Agencies vs Parties

Of the total ₹83.4 crore spent on Google political advertising in India over the past month, only ₹23 crore or 28% came directly from political parties. The remaining 72% was routed through a network of surrogate entities, including in-house agencies, political consultancies, government communication arms, and public relations firms.

“The advertiser on the label is rarely the decision-maker on the budget,” said Vishal Khanna, a media sales coach, highlighting the opacity in political ad buying. “What we’re seeing is not just a change in spending patterns but a shift in control.”

Surrogate entities accounted for ₹43.5 crore, or 52% of total spend. Besides PEN, major contributors included the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC)—founded by strategist Prashant Kishor and currently associated with the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC)—which spent ₹9.15 crore.

Government-linked advertising bodies, including the Central Bureau of Communication and Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity, together accounted for ₹3.2 crore.

An additional ₹17 crore (20%) was spent by other agencies whose end clients are not publicly disclosed. These include firms such as Spangle PR & Media, BMEG, Punjab State Media Society, and YOptima.

Regional concentration ahead of elections

The geographic distribution of ad spend suggests a strong correlation with ongoing state elections in 2026. Tamil Nadu alone accounted for ₹44 crore—more than half (53%) of the national total. West Bengal followed with ₹18.4 crore, while Kerala (₹7.4 crore), Assam (₹3.9 crore), and Puducherry (₹1.05 crore) rounded out the top five.

A senior media planner at a leading agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “Digital campaigning has effectively become a year-round exercise. The current intensity underscores how critical data-driven outreach has become.”

Video dominates political messaging

The format mix further underscores evolving campaign strategies. Video content accounted for a staggering 88.7% of total spend (₹74 crore), dwarfing image-based ads (₹9.1 crore, 10.9%) and text ads (₹34 lakh, 0.4%).

“If you’re not leading with video, you’re not even in the game anymore,” said a digital strategist formerly working with political clients. “Short-form, high-frequency video content is driving both reach and engagement.”

A concentrated buyer market

The data also reveals a highly concentrated buyer ecosystem. Industry estimates suggest that roughly 10 entities control nearly 90% of political ad spending on Google in India.

For media sellers, this has significant implications. Media Pro Research suggests agencies to "Stop pitching to party offices”. “The real buyers are the agencies and consultancies holding the mandates. Mapping these surrogate entities to their political affiliations is now essential for any serious media sales strategy.”

The rise of the “surrogate economy”

Experts say this shift reflects a broader professionalisation of political campaigning in India, where specialised firms handle everything from data analytics to media buying.

“The election economy is increasingly a surrogate economy,” Khanna noted. “Parties are outsourcing not just execution, but also strategic control over communication spends.”

As India heads into a crucial election cycle in 2026, the dominance of intermediaries in digital political advertising signals a more complex and less transparent ecosystem, where agencies wield as much influence as the parties they represent.