As Maharashtra prepares for its civic elections on January 15, digital advertising has emerged as a key campaign lever, with political parties and aligned entities collectively spending around Rs 4.42 crore on Google Search and YouTube, along with an additional Rs 36.5 lakh on Meta platforms, according to data from the Google Ad Library and Meta Ad report. Taken together, combined digital spends across Google and Meta platforms during the campaign period stood at approximately Rs 4.79 crore.
On Google platforms, total political advertising spends between December 15 and January 13 stood at Rs 4.42 crore. The Bharatiya Janata Party Maharashtra emerged as the largest spender by a wide margin, investing Rs 2.33 crore across 685 ads. The party leaned more towards static formats, with image ads accounting for 64.5% of spends (Rs 1.50 crore), while video ads made up 35.5% (Rs 82.7 lakh) on Search and YouTube.
BJP’s digital presence was further amplified through agencies posting content aligned with its messaging. Dreamworth Solutions Private Limited recorded spends of Rs 50.22 lakh across 289 ads, with a strong skew towards video formats (87.4%), while images accounted for 12.6%. Greenshoots Multimedia Private Limited added Rs 8.67 lakh across 66 ads, with its entire outlay directed towards video advertising.
Among opposition players, Shiv Sena UBT, with ads placed by Sourav Gandotra, spent Rs 63.92 lakh across 49 ads. The campaign was almost entirely video-led, with 98.31% of spends (Rs 62.8 lakh) allocated to video, while image ads accounted for Rs 1.11 lakh.
Other alliances and factions also featured prominently. Designboxed Innovations, associated with the BJP–NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), spent Rs 21.85 lakh across 140 ads, with image ads forming 54.8% (Rs 12 lakh) and video ads 45.2% (Rs 9.87 lakh). Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, through Inuxu Digital Media Technologies Private Limited, spent Rs 17.69 lakh across 335 ads, split between video (54.6% or Rs 9.66 lakh) and image formats (45.4% or Rs 8.03 lakh).
On Meta platforms, political ad spending between December 10 and January 8 totalled Rs 36.55 lakh. BJP Maharashtra led with Rs 17.91 lakh, followed by DevGatha at Rs 12.98 lakh. BJP Mumbai accounted for Rs 2.55 lakh, while Shiv Sena recorded spends of Rs 3.10 lakh during the same period.
- Google Search & YouTube: Rs 4.42 crore
- Meta platforms: Rs 36.55 lakh
- Combined digital spends: approximately Rs 4.79 crore
BJP Maharashtra led the digital ad race, spending about Rs 2.33 crore on Google Search and YouTube and nearly Rs 18 lakh on Meta platforms, making it the single largest advertiser in the Maharashtra civic election campaign. While, video emerged as the dominant creative format in the campaign, accounting for over Rs 1.7 crore in ad spends across Google and Meta, as parties increasingly leaned on high-impact visual messaging to reach voters.
Industry experts say the increased reliance on digital platforms reflects a broader shift in political communication strategies during civic elections. “Digital platforms like Google and Meta have changed how political conversations in the Maharashtra civic elections are shaped. Campaigns are no longer one-size-fits-all messaging,” said Shradha Agarwal, Co-founder and Global CEO of Grapes Worldwide.
According to her, campaigns are increasingly focused on connecting with local communities by addressing everyday concerns, with digital platforms enabling active listening, real-time responses, and meaningful engagement rather than functioning only as broadcast tools.
Another Industry executive pointed out that digital is no longer an add-on for political campaigns. “It has become central to how parties plan outreach because of its ability to combine scale with precision, optimise spends quickly, and personalise messaging at a constituency level.” He noted that platforms such as Google and Meta offer speed and cost efficiency that traditional media struggles to match during short, high-intensity election windows.
Taken together, the data highlights how Maharashtra’s civic elections are increasingly being fought online, with nearly Rs 4.8 crore deployed across Google and Meta since the announcement of elections, and video emerging as the dominant format across most political players in the final stretch of campaigning.