BJP got donation of Rs 743 cr, lot more than what other parties received

The
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received Rs 743 crore in donations above Rs 20,000
in financial year 2018-19, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, according to the
party’s declaration to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on October 31
that was made public on Monday.

This is a
lot more than what other national parties received, and the highest that the
BJP has ever raised through such donations.

Political
funding laws in India make it mandatory for political parties to disclose the
details of all donations received in excess of Rs 20,000.

Parties
receive such donations from companies, individuals and electoral trusts, and
such donations are often seen as a proxy for genuine corporate political
funding. Money received through electoral bonds does not come under this, and
parties need not disclose the details of donors.

The Rs 743
crore received by the BJP is over three times more than the combined amount
received in such donations by all other six national parties, including the
Congress.

The Congress
received Rs 147 crore in such donations, the second highest among the national
parties and just a fifth of what the BJP received.

The highest
single donation made to the BJP in 2018-19 was by the Progressive Electoral
Trust, which donated about Rs 357 crore to the party, nearly half of the total
donations.

The Rs 743
crore of the BJP was the highest it received in such donations in at least 16
years, according to data compiled by election and political party watchdog
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The BJP’s
lead over the Congress peaked in the year 2017-18, when the BJP received about
16 times more in such donations than the Congress. However, the gap between the
two parties has narrowed in 2018-19.

To be sure,
the money political parties raise in such donations is only a fraction of their
total annual income.

Figures from
past 16 years show that the donations above Rs 20,000 have at most comprised
51% of the BJP’s annual income ( in the year 2016-17), and have been as low as
3.6% in 2006-07.