The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the frontrunner in political donations, receiving a staggering ₹719.858 crore from 7,945 donors during the fiscal year 2022-23, as per a report published by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). This marks a notable 17.12% increase compared to the preceding financial year (2021-22) when the BJP amassed ₹614.626 crore.In contrast, the Indian National Congress (INC) ranked second in terms of donations, witnessing a decrease of 16.27% from the previous fiscal year, with contributions amounting to ₹79.924 crore.The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) experienced a decline of 39.56%, securing donations worth ₹3.978 crore, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) saw a marginal decrease of 2.99%, garnering ₹1.143 crore in donations.SC strikes down #ElectoralBonds, calls it unconstitutionalThis is huge, could be a game-changer in political funding.EBs allow complete anonymous donations and BJP has gotten Rs 3,337 cr in 6 yrs. Who gave Why https://t.co/79dNPhdM46— Pooja Prasanna (@PoojaPrasanna4) February 15, 2024For the 17th consecutive year, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) declared that it did not receive any donations exceeding ₹20,000 during the fiscal year 2022-23.State-wise donation data provided by ADR highlighted that Delhi topped the list with contributions amounting to ₹276.202 crore, followed by Gujarat with ₹160.509 crore and Maharashtra with ₹96.273 crore.Corporate and business sectors emerged as significant contributors, accounting for 80.017% of the total donations, with 3,318 donations amounting to ₹680.495 crore. Individual donors, on the other hand, contributed ₹166.621 crore through 8,567 donations, constituting 19.592% of the total donations.The BJP significantly outpaced other national parties in corporate donations, receiving ₹610.491 crore, which is more than eight times the total corporate donations received by all other parties combined (₹70.004 crore). Prudent Electoral Trust emerged as the top donor, contributing a total of ₹257.15 crore to the BJP (₹256.25 crore) and AAP (₹90 lakh) collectively.Overall, the total donations received by national parties witnessed a notable increase of ₹91.701 crore, marking a rise of 12.09% from the previous fiscal year 2021-22.
