Rs 1951.07 crore mystery money in Congress coffers!

Crores of rupees received by the Congress between 2005 and 2009 are unaccounted for, the Bharatiya Janata Party is not far behind. Vicky Nanjappa reports 

With elections nearing, the funds that are being pumped into political parties are under the scanner. A recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms stated that there is no record of 75 per cent of the money coming in.

Rs 1951.07 crore received by the Congress between 2005 and 2012 is unaccounted for -- the source of this huge sum of money is unknown. The amount has been collected through donations and sale of coupons, the report said.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 952 crore, while the Bahujan Samaj Party has received Rs 357 crore from unknown sources. 

Total income from funds

The total funds received by the six national parties at their headquarters and state units during the election period: Rs 2545.36 crore

The total funds received by the six parties at their headquarters: Rs 967.41 crore

The funds received by the parties at their state units: Rs 1,577.95 crore

Funds worth Rs 2545.36 crore was received within an average of 115 days from the date of announcement of elections to the date of completion at the central and state level.

Funds received at party headquarters

The Congress has not declared its income from funds received at the party headquarters for 14 elections out of the 31 analysed, including the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress has declared that it received Rs 278.77 crore at its headquarters between 2008 and 2012.  

According to the BSP, funds of Rs 330.36 crore poured in between 2008 and 2012, while the BJP has claimed that the funds amounted to Rs 326.2 crore during the same period.

Compared to the huge sums received by the above three parties, the Communist Party of India-Marxist claims to have received only Rs 9,26 crore and the CPI even lesser -- Rs 5 crore.  

Funds received at the state unit

The Congress received Rs 754.72 crore within an average 115 days from the date of announcement of elections to the date of the completion.

The total income of the BJP from funds during elections was slated at Rs 445.39 crore, where the party has declared that the maximum income came from the 2009 elections -- Rs 169.56 crore within 144 days. The minimum income, it said, came from the Bihar assembly elections held in 2010 -- Rs 5.2 crore within 80 days.

The BSP’s total funds received during elections between 2008 to 2012 amounted to Rs 330.36 crore. It received Rs 127.60 crore during the 10 elections held in 2008 and Rs 33.46 crore during the 2009 polls (Lok Sabha and seven assembly elections).

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How the funds poured in?

While analysing the statements submitted by the parties between 2008 and 2012, it is seen that maximum funds were received by cash while the collection by cheques or demand drafts came a distant second.  

90.38 per cent of the total funds received by the Congress at its headquarters between 2008 and 2012 were by cash -- Rs 251.96 crore, while only 9.62 per cent of the funds came in via cheques -- Rs 26.81 crore.

Of the total funds that the BJP received 67.18 per cent came by cash -- Rs 219.11 crore -- and the party received Rs 80.89 crore through cheques or DDs. 

The Nationalist Congress Party received cash worth Rs 14.93 crore (83.78 per cent of its total funds) and only Rs 2.89 crore (15.22 per cent) by cheques.   

The BSP is the only national party, which has declared funds received from sale of properties during elections, which constituted 4.47 per cent of its collection during elections, an amount of Rs 14.76 crore. A whopping 71.44 per cent of the funds were in cash (Rs 236.01 crore) and 23.37 per cent in cheque/DD (Rs 77.2 crore).

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2008 assembly elections: Funds received in 116 days

During the 2008 assembly elections, the six national parties received funds worth Rs 324.55 crore.

The Congress and BJP have given a combined statement of funds received during the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir. While the Congress received 156.45 crore, the BJP received Rs 37.30 crore.  

The BSP did not contest in the Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland assembly elections. The total funds received from other elections were Rs 76.20 crore.

During the Karnataka elections, the BSP said it received Rs 51.40 crore, the Congress Rs 12.72 crore and the BJP got Rs 4.21 crore. 

While the NCP has not submitted its election expenditure statements for  Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP has not submitted its statement of election expenditure in Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland assembly elections.

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2009 Lok Sabha elections: Funds received in 88 days 

The national parties received Rs 746.94 crore during the polls in 2009.  

Lok Sabha elections in 2009: Funds received in 88 days

The Congress received the maximum funds -- Rs 313.74 crore during the 2009 general elections, while the CPI received the least aid -- a mere Rs 6 lakh. The BJP said its combined funds during the general elections and the assembly polls in Odisha, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh were worth Rs 315.57 crore.   

Assembly elections in 2009: Funds received in 144 days

The BJP has received Rs 315.57 crore from the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly elections in Sikkim, Odisha and Andhra Pardesh. The party has not submitted its election expenditure report for the Arunachal assembly election.

During 2009, the Congress received maximum monetary support from Maharashtra -- Rs 36.11 crore. The BSP received Rs 33.16 crore during the Odisha and Andhra polls.    

The least income was declared by the CPI-M. It received Rs 2 lakh during the Haryana election and Rs 3 lakh in Sikkim. The CPI has not submitted its election expenditure statement for the Odisha and Andhra elections in 2009.

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2010 assembly elections: Funds received in 80 days

The six national parties received Rs 47.21 crore funds.

Bihar was the only state that went for election in 2010. The maximum funds during the Bihar elections were received by the BSP (Rs 37.45 crore) followed by the BJP (Rs 5.20 crore) and the Congress (Rs 1.58 crore).

2011 assembly elections: Funds received in 81 days

Rs 168.91 crore was received by the national party in 2011 when Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal were held.

The Congress received the maximum funds this year -- Rs 62.60 crore. The BJP made Rs 38 crore frim all the five states, while the BSP declared combined funds of Rs 48.68 crore. (The party did not contest in Assam).  

The maximum funds for the Congress came from Kerala (Rs 25.14 crore), followed by Assam (Rs 16.58 crore) and the West Bengal (Rs 10.9 crore). The CPI received the least funds -- Rs 7 lakh from Assam and Rs 8 lakh from Puducherry.    

The NCP did not contest in the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections conducted in 2011.

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2012 assembly elections: Funds received in 155 days

The national parties received contributions worth Rs 290.34 crore.

Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh went for elections in 2012.

While the BSP did not contest in the Manipur elections, the NCP had declared that the party received no income from funds during the Punjab assembly election.

It should be noted that the BJP received Rs 6.28 crore, the Congress Rs 6.20 crore as funds during the Goa election. The BSP has declared a total income of Rs 6.17 crore from Goa, UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand. The least funds during the Goa elections were received by the CPM (Rs 3.23 crore).

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