A total of 2,119 donations, declared by 28 regional parties, amounting to ₹216.765 crore were analysed. | Representational image.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The regional political parties declared donations worth over ₹200 crore for the financial year 2022-23 with JMM, JJP, TDP and TMC reporting the highest increase in their income from donations, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report highlighted the dominance of a few parties in the total donations received, significant delays in submissions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and gaps in disclosure of donor details.
Out of 57 regional parties analysed, only 18 submitted their donation reports to the ECI within the stipulated time.
A total of 2,119 donations, declared by 28 regional parties, amounting to ₹216.765 crore were analysed.
It is to be noted that people donating more than ₹20,000 are required to reveal their identity.
Seventeen other parties delayed their submissions, with delays ranging from two to 164 days. Seven parties, including the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), declared no donations for the year.
The report highlighted significant increases in donations for some parties compared to the previous financial year. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) saw a staggering 3,685% rise, followed by the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) at 1,997%, and the TDP at 1,795%.
However, parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) reported sharp declines in donations, with drops of 99.1% and 89.1%, respectively.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) topped the list of highest recipients, declaring ₹154.03 crore from just 47 donations, followed by the YSR Congress Party with ₹16 crore from five donors and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with ₹11.92 crore.
Notably, five parties – BRS, YSR Congress, TDP, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and Communist Party of India (CPI) – accounted for 90.56% of the total declared donations.
ADR raised concerns about transparency in donation reporting. Five regional parties declared ₹96.2 lakh in donations without providing Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) of the donors, while address details for ₹3.36 crore worth of donations were missing. Moreover, 204 donations totalling ₹165.73 crore lacked complete information about the mode of contribution.
Cash donations accounted for a mere 0.099% of the total contributions, amounting to ₹21.45 lakh from 43 donations. Among states, Kerala led with ₹9.09 lakh in cash donations, followed by West Bengal with ₹5.91 lakh.
Corporate and business entities contributed ₹169.2 crore, comprising 78% of the total donations, while individual donors accounted for ₹45.24 crore. BRS received ₹138.97 crore from 40 corporate donors, the highest among regional parties.
Delhi emerged as the largest donor base, contributing ₹107.09 crore, followed by Telangana with ₹62.99 crore and Andhra Pradesh with ₹8.39 crore.
The ADR report emphasised the need for political parties to ensure timely and complete disclosures of donations, including donor PAN details and accurate modes of contribution. It also called on the ECI to enforce stricter compliance with transparency norms to enhance public trust in the political funding process.
Published – January 10, 2025 05:49 pm IST
