NEW DELHI: The BJP received around Rs 2,244 crore in contributions of Rs 20,000 and above from individuals, trusts, and corporate houses in 2023-24, more than three times its donation inflow in 2022-23. On the other hand, Congress received Rs 288.9 crore through the same route in 2023-24, as against Rs 79.9 crore in the previous year.
According to the contribution reports of the two parties for 2023-24, now available on the EC website, the BJP received Rs 723.6 crore in donations from Prudent Electoral Trust, which also contributed Rs 156.4 crore to Congress. Around one-third of the BJP‘s and more than half of Congress’s donations in 2023-24 came from the Prudent Electoral Trust. The top donors to Prudent in 2022–23 included Megha Engg & Infra Ltd, Serum Institute, Arcelor Mittal Group, and Bharti Airtel.
Poll bond receipts not part of BJP, Cong donation numbers
The total donations declared by the BJP and Congress do not include receipts via electoral bonds, as rules require that political parties declare this detail only in their annual audit reports and not contribution reports. The Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme in February 2024, leaving contributions received directly or through the electoral trust route as the primary funding source for political parties.
However, some regional parties have voluntarily declared their receipts through electoral bonds in their 2023-24 contribution reports. These include BRS, which received Rs 495.5 crore in bonds; DMK, which received Rs 60 crore; and YSR Congress, which received Rs 121.5 crore through the now-defunct instrument. JMM declared Rs 11.5 crore in receipts through bonds, though its other contributions were just over Rs 64 lakh.
The BJP recorded a 212% rise in contributions in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, though this is not unusual since it was the year before the general elections. In 2018-19, the year before the 2019 general election, the BJP declared contributions worth Rs 742 crore, and Congress worth Rs 146.8 crore.
The BJP received Rs 850 crore through electoral trusts, of which over Rs 723 crore came from Prudent, Rs 127 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust, and Rs 17.2 lakh from Einzigartig Electoral Trust. Congress received over Rs 156 crore through the trusts route, though Prudent was the sole donor.
Prudent also contributed Rs 85 crore and Rs 62.5 crore to BRS and YSR Congress in 2023-24, respectively. Both parties were voted out of office the same year. TDP, now the governing party in Andhra Pradesh, received Rs 33 crore from Prudent. DMK received Rs 8 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust and Jayabharath Trust.
Interestingly, the BJP declared Rs 3 crore worth of donations from Future Gaming and Hotel Services in 2023-24. Santiago Martin, also known as the ‘Lottery King’ of India, owns the company. Future Gaming was the biggest donor through the electoral bonds route, with Trinamool Congress being the top beneficiary. Martin is under the scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate and income-tax department for alleged money laundering.
Among other national parties, the AAP declared contributions worth Rs 11.1 crore in 2023-24, down from Rs 37.1 crore the previous year. CPM’s contributions increased to Rs 7.6 crore in 2023-24 from Rs 6.1 crore in 2022-23. The National People’s Party, which is in office in Meghalaya, declared Rs 14.8 lakh in contributions. BSP declared no donations of more than Rs 20,000 yet again. BJD also declared nil donations for FY 2023-24.
TDP declared contributions of over Rs 100 crore in 2023-24, BJD nil and Samajwadi Party Rs 46.7 lakh as compared to Rs 33 crore the previous year.