The BJP has appointed Ernst & Young (EY) to audit spending by advertising, media planning, buying and other communication agencies that craft ed and rolled out its advertising and marketing campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Further, EY has also been tasked to come up with a credible independent estimate of the amount spent by the then Opposition party in its path-breaking publicity campaign, which is widely seen to have contributed to its historic victory. Th e firm was appointed in the fi rst week of May. The audit process that is now underway started at the end of the month, according to two people aware of the ongoing review. The BJP has conducted similar audits in the past, but these were all carried out in-house. Th e objective of this audit is to document expenses and submit it to the Election Commission (EC).
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