There has been a significant decline in the number of donors to political parties. There has been a decrease of 41.5 percent in the number of people who donated 20 thousand and more to 8 political parties in 2020-21. BJP is at the forefront of getting donations. It has received Rs 477.5 crore during this period. According to the data available with the Election Commission, the Congress has received a total donation of Rs 74.5 crore through private and corporate houses and electoral trusts. In 2019-20, the Congress had received a total donation of Rs 139 crore. In this way, the Congress has got 46 percent less donations this year.
Blow to BJP
According to the data available with the Election Commission, BJP has also received 39 percent less donations this time than last year 2019-20. In 19-20, BJP had received a record donation of Rs 785.7 crore. This is the first time that BJP has received less donations through direct and electoral trusts. However, how much income BJP has earned in 2020-21 is not yet known because the audit report of the party has not been made public yet. Except the CPM, all other national parties have registered a decline in their income.
Huge loss for NCP, TMC, gain for CPI
There has been a huge reduction in donations to NCP as compared to last time. The party got Rs 26.2 crore during this period, which is 56 percent less than the last time’s 59.9. The CPM got only Rs 12.8 crore as donation this time as compared to 19.7 crore. CPM also got 34% less donations. CPI is the only party which got more donations than last time. This time CPI has got Rs 1.49 crore as compared to 1.29 crore last time. In this way he has got 15.5 percent more money. National People’s Party has got Rs 59.5 lakh which is 66 percent less than last time’s Rs 1.76 crore. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) had received donations of Rs 8.08 crore last time. But this time he has got only Rs 42.5 lakh. In this way, TMC has suffered the biggest setback among all national parties at 94 per cent. Like every time, BSP has shown zero to the number of people who have received 20 thousand or more donations.
Parties have to give information to the Election Commission
Under the election law, all parties have to submit the slips of 20 thousand or more people to the Election Commission. If we look at the BJP’s 2020-21 audit report, it is found that there has been a decrease in the number of people giving direct donations and an increase in income through electoral bonds. The corporate is anonymously giving donations to the party through bonds.
Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) Sangh chief Major General (R) Anil Verma told our affiliate newspaper TOI that I have been saying in advance that political parties get most of their donations through electoral bonds. There are both national and regional parties among the recipients of such donations. Bond suits both the donor and the party. Verma also said that the lack of donations to the parties has nothing to do with the corona Pandemic. He said that Covid-19 had no impact on the corporate. Because in the elections held in Bihar and other 5 states, the corporate had donated to the parties.
Congress’s income decreased from electoral bonds
Congress had received donations of Rs 317.8 crore through electoral bonds in 2019-20, but in 2020-21 it has come down to just Rs 10 crore. How much donation BJP has received through electoral bonds in 2020-21 will be known only after their audit report comes. In 2019-20, BJP had received Rs 2,555 crore through bonds.
Where did BJP get donations from?
According to the BJP report, in 2020-21, the party got Rs 212.5 crore through the electoral trust. The party got Rs 209 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust, Rs 2 crore from Jayabratha Trust. Apart from this, Rs 1 crore from Samaj Electoral Trust, Rs 5 lakh was received from Injigaritg Trust. Congress got Rs 7.36 crore from Electoral Trust. Of this, 3.31 crore were received through electoral trusts while the rest through Prudent Trust and Jan Kalyan Trust.
