Prudent Electoral Trust was the top donor, disbursing ₹2,668 crore to 15 parties in the last fiscal; other sources include individuals, corporates, and institutions donating directly

While several political parties, including the Congress, saw a decline in donations in 2024-25 compared with the previous financial year, the Bharatiya Janata Party saw the contributions grow by nearly one and a half times, according to audit and contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission.

The donations include contributions from electoral trusts, which have increased significantly since the scrapping of the electoral bonds scheme in February 2024. Prudent Electoral Trust was the top donor, disbursing ₹2,668 crore to 15 parties in the last fiscal. Other sources include individuals, corporates, and institutions donating directly.

Just seven big corporate houses – the Tatas, the O.P. Jindal Group, L&T, Megha Engineering, Ashok Leyland, DLF, and Mahindra – accounted for more than half the contributions received by electoral trusts in 2024-25.

New Delhi: In the first full financial year after the Supreme Court scrapped the electoral bond scheme, the ruling party at the Centre consolidated its financial position, securing 12 times the donations received by its principal rival, the Congress. According to contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission (EC) for 2024-25, the BJP’s corpus is 4.5 times the total contributions received by a dozen opposition parties combined.

While the BJP received Rs 3,967 crore in 2023-24, this figure surged to Rs 6,088 crore in the year coinciding with the Lok Sabha elections. Just seven big corporate houses – the Tatas, the O.P. Jindal Group, L&T, Megha Engineering, Ashok Leyland, DLF, and Mahindra – accounted for more than half the contributions received by electoral trusts in 2024-25. These trusts, which donated a total of Rs 3,811.37 crore to various parties, saw the seven groups contribute Rs 2,107 crore, making up 55% of their corpus.

Congress sees decline

In contrast, the Congress received Rs 522.13 crore from grants, trusts and contributions in 2024-25, less than half of the Rs 1,129.66 crore it secured in the previous fiscal year.

A report on the Indian Express indicates that 60%, or Rs 313.76 crore, of the Congress’s total donations came from electoral trusts. The disparity highlights the widening financial gap between the two national parties in the post-electoral bond era.

Regional allies benefit: TDP and JSP

Partners within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also reported varied financial trajectories. In Andhra Pradesh, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) received Rs 83.03 crore, a decline from the Rs 100.18 crore received in 2023-24.

The Prudent Electoral Trust was the highest contributor to the TDP, donating Rs 40 crore. Other trusts, including the A.B. General Trust (Rs 5 crore) and Triumph Trust (Rs 4 crore), also contributed. Corporate donors included NATCO Pharma (Rs 7 crore), Varsity Education Management (Rs 5 crore), Christy Friedgram Industry (Rs 2 crore), United Tele Links (Rs 2 crore), and Priya Acqua Farms (Rs 2 crore).

Several solar power firms made significant contributions. Heremba Renewables Ltd. donated Rs 59.90 lakh, while Neemuch Solar Power contributed Rs 43.80 lakh. Other renewable energy donors included Renew Ranga Reddy Solar Power (Rs 57.80 lakh), Renew Solar Energy (Jharkhand Five) (Rs 29.10 lakh), Renew Wind Energy (Rajasthan One) (Rs 43.20 lakh), Shreyas Solar Farms (Rs 52.50 lakh), and Akhilagya Solar Energy (Rs 30.60 lakh). Century Plyboards also donated Rs 50 lakh. Two individual donors, Sharat Babu Bollineni and Krishna Mohan Bollineni, contributed Rs 2 crore each.

State TDP president Palla Srinivasa Rao told reporters: “For every paisa we get, we are accountable to the donors… For example, we have a healthcare scheme to which we contribute Rs 38 crore — all this comes from donations.”

The TDP’s alliance partner, the Jana Sena Party (JSP), received Rs 25.33 crore. Led by deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, the party relied heavily on individual donors and construction firms. Ravikumar Akula, an individual donor from Hyderabad, contributed Rs 5 crore, the highest for the party. RVM Constructions India donated Rs 3 crore, while NATCO Pharma contributed Rs 1 crore.

Other significant contributions included Rs 2 crore from DVK Constructions, Rs 1.5 crore from Sainath ADS, Rs 1 crore from Miracle Software Systems, and Rs 1 crore from individual donor Uddaraju Sri Rama Lakshmipathi Bhoga Raju. Notably, the JSP did not receive significant funds from electoral trusts. Party spokesman Ajaya Kumar Vemulapati expressed gratitude to grassroots workers and pensioners who donated amounts ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 20.

TMC funding triples

Among the Opposition, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal saw its donations nearly triple to Rs 184.96 crore from Rs 64.24 crore. The party received funds from 448 donors.

The Prudent Electoral Trust contributed Rs 92 crore, while Tiger Associates, a lottery distributor, donated Rs 50 crore. The Tata-backed Progressive Electoral Trust gave Rs 10 crore. Other significant donors included Rashmi Cement Ltd. (Rs 5 crore), Shyam Ferro Alloys Ltd. (Rs 3 crore), Kejriwal Mining (Rs 3 crore), Super Smelters (Rs 2 crore), and IVL Dhanseri Petrochem Industries (Rs 2 crore). The highest individual donor was Kishan Gopal Mohta, who contributed Rs 3 crore.

The report highlighted that 199 of the TMC’s 213 MLAs contributed between Rs 22,000 and Rs 30,000 to the party fund. Ministers including Bratya Basu, Babul Supriyo, Aroop Biswas, Chandrima Bhattachar