The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has left other major political parties far behind in terms of donations received. According to the latest report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the donations received by the BJP are more than ten times the amount collected by other prominent political parties. The report contains details of donations above ₹20,000 received by political parties during the 2024-25 financial year.

The Statistical Breakdown:

According to the report, the total donation received by the BJP from 5,222 individuals and entities amounts to ₹6,074.015 crore. This is significantly higher than the total amount received by the other five national parties combined, which include the Indian National Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), CPI(M), BSP, and the National People's Party. The total donations received by the Indian National Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and National People's Party together stand at ₹574.54 crore. Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) declared that it has not received any donations above ₹20,000, maintaining the same stance it has held for the past 19 years.

Share from Various States:

When examining the sources of these donations, the highest amount was received from Delhi, totaling ₹2,639.481 crore. Following closely are Maharashtra with ₹2,438.86 crore and Gujarat with ₹309.177 crore. The ADR report points out that the majority of these party funds come from the corporate and business sectors, with the bulk of the BJP's funding consisting of such large-scale contributions.

Key Contributors to Political Parties:

The Prudent Electoral Trust stands at the forefront of the contributors. The said trust donated ₹2,180.71 crore to the BJP. The same trust also contributed ₹216.33 crore to the Congress and ₹16.41 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party. Statistics further indicate that Kalyan Jewellers provided ₹1 crore to the CPI(M), while Meghalaya Cements Limited donated ₹35 lakh to the National People's Party.

Shocking Increase in Donations:

According to ADR data, there has been a massive increase in the donations received by political parties over the past few years. The report notes a 161% increase in donations during the 2024-25 financial year. Within this, the rate of donations received by the BJP alone has increased by 171%. The ADR report also calls for ensuring greater transparency in the financial sources of political parties.