Social Media covered 1/10th of Tarique Rahman's Electoral Campaign Budget in Dhaka-17
In the campaign for the 13th National Parliament election, BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman spent nearly one-tenth of his total campaign expenditure on online social media in Dhaka-17 constituency. He spent Tk 50,000 on this platform for campaign purposes. Combined with offline spending, the total expenditure in this sector stood at Tk 550,000.
According to the election expenditure return submitted by the Prime Minister to the Election Commission within the prescribed limit, the largest portion of campaign spending was allocated to agents and other staff, amounting to Tk 984,000. Additionally, Tk 66,000 was spent on accommodation and administrative costs, and Tk 50,000 was allocated to social media as part of modern digital campaigning. Other expenditures included Tk 110,000 for transportation, Tk 180,000 for organizing public rallies, and Tk 360,000 for operating election camps. In total, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s campaign expenditure in Dhaka-17 constituency for the 13th National Parliament election amounted to Tk 2.3 million.
This information was obtained from the Election Commission (EC) on Monday, 30 March. Tarique Rahman maintains verified accounts on Facebook, YouTube, and X (Twitter). Ahead of the election, he ranked 63rd on the list of the top 100 Facebook content creators published by the social media analytics website Social Blade.
The total number of voters in Dhaka-17 constituency is 333,777. Accordingly, the Prime Minister spent approximately Tk 7 per voter.
Under the Representation of the People Order (RPO), 1972, a candidate is allowed to spend up to Tk 2.5 million or Tk 10 per voter—whichever is higher. The Prime Minister’s expenditure remains within this prescribed limit.
According to the law, elected candidates must submit their election expenditure statement (Form-22) within 30 days of the publication of the gazette notification. In compliance with this rule, the BNP Chairman’s election expenditure statement was submitted to the Returning Officer on 11 March by his election agent.
As per the Election Conduct Rules, 2008, the return must be submitted in the prescribed form along with an affidavit, and a copy must be sent to the Election Commission Secretariat by registered post. Failure to submit the statement within the stipulated time may result in penalties, including rigorous imprisonment from two to seven years and cancellation of the candidate’s membership.
Regarding this, EC Joint Secretary (Election Management-2) Md. Moin Uddin Khan said that legal action would be taken under the RPO if candidates fail to submit their expenditure returns in accordance with the law.
It has been learned that expenditure statements of rival candidates have already begun arriving by post. Field officials are also submitting data to the EC Secretariat in the prescribed format. The EC will require some time to consolidate and finalize this information.
DBTech/IH/MUM/OR
