In 2021-22, the total donations made to political parties by Electoral Trusts amounted to ₹ 487.43 crores, out of which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received ₹ 351.50 crore, which is equal to 72.17 per cent. And on the other hand, Congress received less than the TRS, Samajwadi Party, AAP and the YSR Congress, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms.
Electoral trust is a non-profit organisation in India that ensures that corporate entities and individuals can contribute to political parties in an orderly manner. This organisation strives to improve the transparency of funds used for election-related expenses.
The data released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed that the BJP received nineteen times more donations from electoral trusts in 2021-22 than Congress. Moreover, the total contributions to the BJP were over 2.5 times higher than all the other nine parties combined.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analyzed Electoral Trusts and found that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the recipient of 72.17% of the total donations given to all political parties in 2021-22, amounting to ₹ 351.50 crores.
The Indian National Congress (INC) followed with ₹ 18.44 crore, while the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) secured ₹ 40 crores and ₹ 27 crore, respectively. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) obtained ₹ 21.12 crore and ₹ 20 crores from Electoral Trusts. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Punjab Lok Congress Party (PLP), Goa Forward Party (GFP), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) received ₹ 7 crore, ₹ 1 crore, ₹ 50 lacks, and ₹ 50 lakhs, respectively.
Electoral Trusts which have declared receiving contributions during FY 2021-22 have received a total amount of ₹ 487.09 crore from corporates and individuals and distributed ₹ 487.06 crore (99.99 per cent) to various political parties, the Association for Democratic Reforms said.
Eighty-nine corporate/business houses contributed ₹ 475.80 crores to Electoral Trusts in FY 2021-22, 62 contributed ₹ 456.30 crores to Prudent Electoral Trust, two corporates contributed ₹ 10.00 crore to AB General Electoral Trust, three corporates contributed ₹ 5 crores to Samaj Electoral Trust and 15 corporates contributed ₹ 2.20 crore to Independent Electoral Trust.
The ADR said 40 individuals have contributed to Electoral Trusts in FY 2021-22, 13 individuals contributed ₹ 8.53 crore to Prudent Electoral Trust, 15 individuals contributed ₹ 2.61 crore to Independent Electoral Trust, and 12 individuals gave a total of ₹ 14.34 lakh to Small Donation Electoral Trust.
Acrelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Ltd contributed the highest amount worth ₹ 70.00 crores amongst all donors of the Electoral Trusts, followed by Acrelor Mittal Design and Engg Centre Pvt Ltd with ₹ 60 crores and Bharti Airtel Limited, which contributed ₹ 51 crores, to various Trusts, the report said.
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