Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP continues to dominate in political donations, receiving the largest share, while the Congress trails far behind. The AAP experienced a significant 70% decrease in donations following their Delhi ouster. Prudent Electoral Trust remains a major donor, contributing heavily to both the BJP and Congress.

The latest Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) assessment of Election Commission data—on donations made to political parties in FY 2023-24—points to the financial dynamics at play in the electoral field ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with BJP bagging the lion’s share once again, Congress a very distant second and AAP seeing a 70% cut.

Prudent Electoral Trust continued to dominate the arena, funding a total of `880.0775 cr to BJP and Congress together with `723.675 cr to BJP and `156.4 cr to Congress.

Ousted from power in Delhi this year, the AAP saw its fortunes dip in terms of donations as well. Its donations suffered a 70.18% decline compared to previous financial year, down from `37.10 cr in FY 2022-23 to `11.062 cr in FY 23-24.

In percentage terms, the National People’s Party (NPEP) took the biggest hit with a 98.02% decrease in funding and `7.3 crore shaved off from FY 22-23, leaving it with just `0.148 cr in FY 2023-24.

The Mayawati-led BSP continued to remarkably declare, for 18 years now, that it did not receive any donations above `20,000 during FY 2023-24.

Triumph Electoral Trust comes next with `127.50 cr sent to BJP while Derive Investments donated `50 cr to BJP and `3.20 cr to Congress. Acme Solar Energy Pvt Ltd, Bharat Biotech International Limited, Rungta Sons Private Limited donated around `50 cr each to political parties.