Between financial years 2012-13 and 2015-16, five national parties received a total of ₹1,070.68 crore via voluntary contributions above ₹20,000. Of this, 89%, or ₹956.77 crore, was from corporate and business houses, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The BJP received the lion’s share of the corporate donations, lapping up ₹705.81 crore from 2,987 corporate donors.
This is nearly three times the combined corporate donations received by the remaining four parties. The Congress was the next big beneficiary, getting ₹198.16 crore from 167 such donors.
As per the records, the BSP did not receive any donation of above ₹20,000 during this period. The CPI got the least amount of donations from the corporate sector, receiving only ₹18 lakh from 17 donors, which accounted for just 4% of its total donations.
The BJP, the Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) received the maximum contributions from the “trusts and group of companies” category, which included entities with interests in mining, real estate, power, newspapers and other businesses. This category of corporate/business houses donated ₹432.65 crore to political parties between 2012-13 and 2015-16, says the report.
While the BJP received ₹287.69 crore, the Congress got ₹129.16 crore, and the NCP ₹15.78 crore. The BJP received the highest donations from all the 14 sectors, as defined by the ADR, including real estate (₹105.20 crore); mining, construction, exports/imports (₹83.56 crore); and chemicals/pharmaceuticals (₹31.94 crore).
Every year, political parties are required to submit details of donations above ₹20,000 to the Election Commission. They have to provide the donor’s name, address, PAN, mode of payment and the amount contributed.
Satya Electoral Trust
The report states that Satya Electoral Trust was the top donor to three of the parties.
It donated to them 35 times in three years, a total of ₹260.87 crore. The BJP declared receiving ₹193.62 crore in 23 donations, while the Congress was the recipient of ₹57.25 crore in nine donations.
The NCP received ₹10 crore in three donations from the Trust during the same period.
Electoral Scheme
The Trust was formed before the Electoral Scheme was launched by the government in 2013.
Top donors for the CPI(M) and the CPI were associations or unions.
The CPI received ₹14.64 lakh from 15 associations and unions, while the CPI(M) got ₹1.09 crore from seven associations.
In 1,933 donations involving ₹384.04 crore, PAN details were not mentioned.
Address details were missing for ₹355.08 crore received through 1,546 donations. “99% of such donations without PAN and address details worth ₹159.59 crore belong to the BJP,” says the ADR report.
