In the upcoming national parliamentary election, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s estimated expenditure for two constituencies is BDT 6 million, which he plans to fund entirely from his personal income, primarily from agriculture and bank deposits. In contrast, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqul Rahman will finance a large portion of his campaign from his party’s funds. Meanwhile, Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), will rely mainly on public contributions, using crowd-funding to cover his campaign expenses.

Candidates are required to disclose potential sources of election funding when submitting their nomination papers. The Election Commission (EC) also publishes this information alongside candidates’ affidavits on its website.

Election law sets limits on how much a candidate can spend. Previously, the maximum limit was BDT 2.5 million. The new rules have increased the ceiling: under the Representation of the People Order (RPO), a candidate may spend BDT 10 per registered voter in their constituency or BDT 2.5 million—whichever is higher. As a result, spending limits now range from BDT 2.5 million to 8 million per constituency, and a candidate may contest up to three seats.

Tarique Rahman has submitted nominations for Bogura-6 and Dhaka-17. According to EC calculations, he can spend slightly over BDT 3.3 million in Dhaka-17 and BDT 4.54 million in Bogura-6, totaling BDT 6 million. He has indicated that all of this will come from his personal income sources. Tarique’s declared assets, including movable and immovable property, cash, shares, gold, and other valuables, total nearly BDT 19.7 million, with movable assets alone accounting for around BDT 19.3 million.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has listed his potential campaign expenditure at BDT 5,116,200, funded through his business income, consulting, agriculture, stipends, and bank interest. For Thakurgaon-1, his spending limit under the law is BDT 5,116,290. Fakhrul’s declared annual income is BDT 1,283,133, and his total assets amount to approximately BDT 15.27 million.

Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Shafiqul Rahman will contest Dhaka-15 (covering parts of Mirpur and Kafrul). He has declared assets of around BDT 15 million, including BDT 6.07 million in cash. According to voter numbers, he can spend up to BDT 3.5 million in his constituency. Of this, he plans to use BDT 1 million from personal cash and bank deposits, while the remaining BDT 3.5 million will come from his party’s regular member contributions.

Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar is running from Khulna-5, with a campaign spending limit of slightly over BDT 4 million. He plans to fund BDT 3 million from his business, donations from family members, and party funds.

Nahid Islam, contesting Dhaka-11, has declared that he will mainly rely on crowd-funding to cover his estimated BDT 4.4 million expenditure, contributing BDT 100,000 from his personal income. Similarly, NCP member secretary Akhtar Hossain, contesting Rangpur-4, will fund BDT 1 million from his legal practice and BDT 4.9 million from crowd-funding, totaling a campaign limit of just over BDT 5 million.

Former Election System Reform Commission (ESRC) chief Badiul Alam Majumdar has criticized the Election Commission (EC) for ignoring proposals on financial transparency within political parties and accountability of leaders. He noted that candidates often exceed official spending limits, citing research by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) during the 12th parliamentary election, which found that in 50 constituencies, Awami League candidates spent nearly six times the EC’s limits. In the 2018 election, candidates reportedly spent three times the allowed amount.

Majumdar stressed that to curb excessive election spending, the EC must monitor both party and candidate expenditures carefully, reviewing the financial statements submitted after the polls. Without proper oversight, he warned, campaign spending has reached unprecedented levels.