BJP corporate donations 7 times higher than other parties: ADR
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received Rs. 548.808 crore in corporate donations in 2021-22 which is more than seven times the total corporate donations (Rs. 77.075 crore) declared by all other national parties during this period, poll watchdog Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed. Notably, BJP received a total donation of Rs. 614.6 crore last year followed by the Congress Party (Rs. 95.4 crore).
Why does this story matter?
BJP has been receiving more donations than other parties for many years now. However, the latest revelation comes at a time when the BJP is facing Opposition allegations of favoring the leading corporate conglomerate Adani Group amid allegations of fraud against it. Notably, all parties have to mandatorily declare contributions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that exceed Rs. 20,000.
Of 2,551 total corporate donations, nearly 2,100 went to BJP
According to the report, corporates or business houses donated a total of Rs. 548.808 crore (received from 2,068 of total 2,551 donations) to BJP. During the FY 2021-22, the party received Rs. 65.774 crore from individual donations. Congress, on the other hand, got a total of Rs. 54.567 crore from 170 corporate or business donations and Rs. 40.892 crore from 1,085 individual contributors.
BJP received 85% more donations than Congress
In FY 2021-22, the BJP got nearly 85% more donations than Congress, according to ADR. BJP's contribution report filed with the ECI reportedly revealed that the BJP received a total of Rs. 614.626 crore from 4,957 donations, followed by Rs. 95.45 crore from 1,255 donations by Congress.
BJP's donations thrice than other parties combined
According to the ADR report, the donations declared by the BJP were more than three times the aggregate of other major national parties combined in 2021-22. The other parties include the Indian National Congress (INC) or Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM), National People's Party (NPEP), and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
BSP received no donation above Rs. 20,000 for 16th year
The report said that Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) declared it did not receive any donations over Rs. 20,000 for the 16th year in a row. Notably, the total donations of the national parties during FY 2021-22 increased by Rs. 187.026 crore, an increase of 31.50%.
