Electoral bonds are a major source of funding for political parties: Take a look at which party got how much

HYDERABAD: The cumulative amounts major political parties in Telugu States received are:

BJP - Rs 6,570 Crore (nationally)

Congress - Rs 1,123 Crore (nationally)

TRS/BRS - Rs 383.65 Crore

YSRCP - Rs 381 Crore

TDP - Rs 146 Crore

The use of electoral bonds in India for funding political parties has been a topic of controversy for some time. The latest contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission for the fiscal year 2022-23 reveal that electoral bonds have become a significant source of funding for regional political parties in the country.

Image Credit: ADRE India

The contribution reports for 23 regional parties show that over Rs 975 crore was received through various contributions in 2022-23. Of these funds, approximately 80% were attributed to electoral bonds, which were notably channelled to the top three parties, namely Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), DMK, and YSR Congress Party.

BRS reported the highest influx of contributions, totalling Rs 683 crore, including a substantial Rs 529 crore via electoral bonds and Rs 90 crore through the Prudent Electoral Trust. Similarly, DMK disclosed contributions amounting to Rs 192 crore, with an overwhelming 96% sourced from electoral bonds. YSR Congress Party reported contributions worth Rs 68 crore, of which 76% originated from electoral bonds and Rs 16 crore from the Prudent Electoral Trust.

Image Credit: ADRE India

Furthermore, it's notable that political parties usually do not disclose income derived from electoral bonds in their contribution reports, as per the discretionary provisions of Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Nevertheless, BRS, YSRCP, and DMK voluntarily divulged details of their bond-related receipts in their recent contribution reports submitted to the EC.

The Election Commission's website currently hosts contribution reports from only two national parties and 23 regional parties. Among the national parties, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reported contributions exceeding Rs 31 crore, while the Bahujan Samaj Party declared nil contributions exceeding Rs 20,000 each.

Among the regional parties, Janata Dal (United) recorded contributions surpassing Rs 5.48 crore, followed by TDP with Rs 11.92 crore, Jannanyak Janata Party with Rs 2.83 crore, Trinamool Congress with Rs 2 crore, Shiromani Akali Dal with Rs 1.4 crore, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena with Rs 1.5 crore, and Samajwadi Party with Rs 26.9 lakh in contributions exceeding Rs 20,000.

According to a report submitted to the Election Commission, the BJP received almost Rs 1,300 crore through electoral bonds during the financial year 2022-23. The party's total contributions for the year were Rs 2,120 crore, with 61% of the amount coming from electoral bonds.

Image Credit: ADRE India

Comparatively, the BJP's total contributions in the previous year were Rs 1,775 crore. Their overall income for the financial year 2022-23 saw a significant increase, reaching Rs 2,360.8 crore, up from Rs 1,917 crore in the preceding fiscal year 2021-22.

In contrast, the Congress reported a decline in earnings from electoral bonds, with Rs 171 crore in the financial year 2022-23, down from Rs 236 crore received in 2021-22.

As per the analysis of donations to registered recognized political parties conducted by the ADR, the cumulative donations received by the 31 recognized political parties studied between 2016-17 and 2021-22 amounted to Rs 16,437.635 crore. Of this, Electoral Bonds contributed Rs 9,188.35991 crore (55.90%), the corporate sector contributed Rs 4,614.53 crore (28.07%), and other sources contributed Rs 2,634.74509 crore (16.03%).

Over the six-year period, Electoral Bonds accounted for more than 52% of the BJP's total donations, totaling Rs 5,271.97 crore, while all other National parties collectively received Rs 1,783.93 crore. The Congress declared the second-highest donations from bonds, amounting to Rs 952.29 crore, constituting 61.54% of its total donations, followed by AITC, which disclosed Rs 767.88 crore (93.27%).

A significant portion of BJD's total donations, specifically 89.81%, came from Electoral Bonds, totaling Rs 622 crore. DMK reported the second-highest donations from bonds at Rs 431.50 crore, constituting 90.703% of its total donations, followed by TRS with Rs 383.6529 crore (80.45%) and YSRCP with Rs 330.44 crore (72.43 percent).