Data | Corporate donations to political parties: Which party received the most?

According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, in FY 2019-20, when the Lok Sabha elections were conducted, political parties received over ₹920 crore in the form of corporate donations and Prudent Electoral Trust was the top contributor to the BJP and INC

Close up of Indian 2000 rupee notes | Photo Credit: GODS_AND_KINGS

In FY 2019-20, when the Lok Sabha elections were conducted, political parties received over ₹920 crore in the form of corporate donations, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms. The report analysed corporate donations to five national parties: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM). The BJP was the biggest recipient of corporate donations made in FY20 followed by the INC and NCP. Prudent Electoral Trust was the top contributor to the BJP and INC followed by Jankalyan Electoral Trust and ITC Limited. It is to be noted that donations through electoral bonds still constitute the lion’s share in the total income of the BJP and INC

• Electoral bonds form the highest share in the total income of three national parties — the BJP, the INC and the AITC
• Corporate donations formed a major chunk of the NCP’s total income 
• The top donor for the two national parties (BJP and INC), Prudent Electoral Trust, donated a total of ₹248 crore in FY 20

Highest in years

 The chart shows the year-wise corporate donations (in ₹ crore) to five national parties. National parties received over ₹920 crore from corporates in FY20, the highest in at least the past eight years

Corporate donations in FY 20 constituted 91% of the total contribution to political parties from known sources. Known sources are donations above ₹20,000, whose donor details are available with the Election Commission of India

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Party-wise share

The chart shows the total corporate donations received by the five national parties in FY 20. The amount donated to the BJP, the highest recipient of corporate donations, was ₹720 crore

Note: The Bahujan Samaj Party was not considered in the analysis as the party declared that it received no voluntary contributions above ₹20,000 from any donor during this period. The Communist Party of India did not declare any income from corporates for FY 2019-20

Corporate spenders

The chart shows the top three corporate donors of national parties. Prudent Electoral Trust was the top donor for the BJP and INC

Income mix

The chart shows the share of corporate donations, electoral bonds, and other sources in the total income of seven national parties

Source : Association for Democratic Reforms