The report, based on data submitted to the Election Commission, highlighted trends in political donations above Rs 20,000.
In the financial year 2023–24, the BJP received the highest amount in large donations among national parties, declaring over Rs 2,243 crore received from 8,358 donations, according to a report by poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
According to a report based on data submitted to the Election Commission, donations above Rs 20,000 to national parties totaled Rs 2,544.28 crore from 12,547 contributions in 2023–24 — marking a sharp 199 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
What did other parties receive?
The BJP’s declared donations alone made up 88 per cent of the total contributions. The Congress followed distantly, receiving Rs 281.48 crore from 1,994 donations. Smaller amounts were reported by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the National People’s Party (NPEP). Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) once again declared zero donations above the Rs 20,000 threshold, consistent with its filings for the past 18 years.
Donations to the BJP increased from Rs 719.858 crore in FY 2022-23 to Rs 2,243.94 crore in FY 2023-24, marking a 211.72 per cent increase. Similarly, donations to the Congress rose from Rs 79.924 crore in FY 2022-23 to Rs 281.48 crore in FY 2023-24, reflecting a 252.18 per cent increase, the report said.
Over the same period, donations declared by the AAP decreased by 70.18 per cent or Rs 26.038 crore, while donations declared by NPEP decreased by 98.02 per cent or Rs 7.331 crore, it said.
Despite the ECI’s deadline of September 30, 2024, only BSP and AAP submitted their contribution reports on time. BJP submitted its report with a 42-day delay, followed by CPI(M), INC, and NPEP, which submitted it 43, 27, and 23 days late.
How many donations were made by corporate/business sectors?
The report revealed that in the financial year 2023–24, national parties received 3,755 donations from corporate and business entities, totaling Rs 2,262.55 crore, accounting for 88.92 per cent of all donations. In contrast, 8,493 individual donors contributed Rs 270.87 crore, making up 10.64 per cent of the total.
Of these, the BJP received 3,478 corporate donations amounting to Rs 2,064.58 crore. Additionally, the party garnered Rs 169.13 crore from 4,628 individual donors during the same period.
“The Congress received a total of Rs 190.3263 cr via 102 donations from corporate/business sectors and Rs 90.899 crore via 1,882 individual donors during FY 2023-24,” it said.
The ADR said the BJP at Rs 2064.58 crore received more than nine times the total amount (Rs 197.97 crore) of all corporate donations declared by all other national parties for FY 2023-24.
Prudent Electoral Trust donated Rs 880 crore to BJP and Congress
Prudent Electoral Trust emerged as the top donor in FY 2023–24, contributing a total of Rs 880 crore to both the BJP and Congress. Of this, Rs 723.675 crore went to the BJP, accounting for 32.25 per cent of the party’s total declared donations. While the Congress received Rs 156.4025 crore, which made up 55.56 per cent of its total donations.
Other significant contributions to the BJP included Rs 127.50 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust through four donations and Rs 50 crore from Derive Investments, which also donated Rs 3.20 crore to the Congress.
Corporate donors to the BJP also included Acme Solar Energy Pvt Ltd (Rs 51 crore via five donations), Bharat Biotech International Limited (Rs 50 crore in a single donation), Rungta Sons Private Limited (Rs 50 crore), and Dinesh Chandra R Agarwal Infracon Pvt Ltd (Rs 30 crore), according to the report.
ADR observed that Prudent Electoral Trust’s report declared contributing 31 donations worth Rs 723.78 crore to BJP, however, the party in its report declared receiving 30 donations worth Rs 723.675 crore.
According to the Jaybharath Electoral Trust report for FY 2023-24, it donated Rs 5 crore to the BJP. However, the contribution report of BJP for the same financial year does not mention this contribution, ADR said.
ADR recommended stringent enforcement of disclosure norms, including the rejection of incomplete reports and mandatory PAN details for all donations above Rs 20,000.
It also called for annual scrutiny of party donation reports by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and advocated for making donor details publicly accessible under the Right to Information Act.
It urged the Election Commission to publish information on action taken against parties failing to meet disclosure standards and pushed for the creation of an online platform to track report submissions and transparency.
(With PTI inputs)
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