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Electoral trust is a non-profit organisation formed in India for orderly receiving of contributions from corporate entities and individuals to political parties.
The BJP received the highest amount in large donations among national parties in the financial year 2023-24, with over Rs 2,243 crore declared from 8,358 donations, according to a report by poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The report, based on data submitted to the Election Commission, highlighted trends in political donations above Rs 20,000. The total declared donations to national parties stood at Rs 2,544.28 crore from 12,547 contributions - a sharp 199 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
During 2023-24, while the BJP received over Rs 723 crore worth of donations from Prudent Electoral Trust, it also got over Rs 127 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust and over Rs 17 lakh from Einzigartig Electoral Trust.
These trusts are being registered under a new framework.
As general elections draw closer, at least five large corporate houses including those of Ambanis, Mittals and Birlas, have set up 'Electoral Trusts' for providing funds to political parties.
The Budget proposal for creation of electoral trusts for political donations came in for severe criticism by Left parties, with the CPI(M) saying it would be the "fountainhead of all political corruption".
Collectively, these companies spent Rs 628 crore (Rs 6.28 billion) on political contributions in the past five years, according to their annual reports.
'Mumbai main branch (SBI headquarter) has all the data ready-made. It doesn't take even an hour to out the data from the system.'
Years before the Supreme Court struck down as 'unconstitutional' an opaque political funding tool that allowed individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits, the then finance minister Arun Jaitley -- the prime mover of electoral bonds -- had termed them legitimate and transparent.
'Isn't it obvious? Do you have a doubt? There is so much data that shows that there is quid pro quo.' 'There are many instances of donations being given after the raids, donations being given before the award of a contract and many other permutations and combinations.'
The Congress on Friday alleged that the electoral bonds data has exposed 'corrupt tactics' of the Bharatiya Janata Party such as quid pro quo, seeking donations for the company's protection, kickbacks and money laundering through shell companies.
"But the BJP wants it to be done after Lok Sabha elections. The tenure of this Lok Sabha will end on 16th June and SBI wants to share the data by 30th June," Kharge said.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party received over Rs 785 crore in contributions from individuals, electoral trusts and corporates in 2019-20, which is over five times more than what the Congress received during the same period.
Donations from corporates to the national parties increased by 109 per cent between FY 2017-18 and 2018-19, said an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO working for bringing in transparency in electoral politics.
The Bahujan Samaj Party declared that it did not receive any donation above Rs 20,000 during 2021-22 as it has been declaring for the past 16 years, the ADR claimed.
Parties have to file report of contributions to the EC received in excess of Rs 20,000 as per provisions of the election law.
Donations received in form of electoral bonds were not included in the filing.
From disbursing Rs 25.11 crore to political parties in 2014-2015, the Tata group is learnt to have contributed Rs about Rs 600 crore towards the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
For some of the business majors, the fund outgo for the 2019 elections has risen as much as 15 to 20 times, compared to the amount given to political parties five years ago.
The former party donated Rs 54,000 between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has been the biggest beneficiary of donations from the Satya Electoral Trust.
With the Lok Sabha polls drawing near, the count of electoral trusts set up by companies to channelise their political funding is on the rise and at least 10 such entities have been registered, including those by Reliance, Tatas, Mahindras and Birlas.
The ruling party received Rs 742 crore in 2018-19, a rise of 70 per cent from the previous year.
Biggest contribution came from Bharti group-led Satya Electoral Trust.
'Rather than encouraging transparency, the opacity of electoral bonds adds to the murkiness,' argues Amit Tandon.
The Tata group will fund new political entrant Aam Aadmi Party based only on its performance in the upcoming general elections and not before.
BJP received chunk of the funds at Rs 437.04 crore, while Congress got Rs 26.65 crore.
Congress a distant second with Rs 198.16 crores.
The Association for Democratic Reforms has stated in its report that 87 percent of the contributions or donations made to political parties in the past eight years were from business houses. The corporate houses contributed Rs 378.89 crore, constituting 87 per cent of the total contribution from known sources of political parties.
Last year, she drove the Tata Motors' Nano factory out from West Bengal. Three days ago, Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee turned down another Tata offer a donation of Rs 27,70,660 to her party from the Tata Sons Electoral Trust.
The Corporate affairs ministry has notified that henceforth political parties will not be eligible for CSR funding.
Aditya Birla Group on Friday said it donated funds to political outfits through a trust for around 15 years and that these were done within permissible limits of the country's laws.
In a statement, the CBDT, which is the apex policy making body for direct tax policies, said it has never asked IRS Association or these officers to prepare such a report and no permission was sought by them before making the report public. 'It is unequivocally stated that CBDT never asked IRS Association or these officers to prepare such a report.
'In mocking him, Modi and Shah went horribly wrong.'
'It made Gandhi determined to fight to the finish, which now has the entire Sangh Parivar rattled,' says a Congress leader, privy to the repeated RSS outreach for a rapproachment.
The filing of audit reports was made mandatory in ITR Form 5, 6 and 7 after the tax department noticed discrepancies in filing of some returns along with audit reports.
Political parties in India have received funds to the tune of Rs 4,895.6 crore between 2004 and 2012, and the irony is that 75 per cent of these funds cannot be traced.
Don't end up claiming tax by just referring to Section 80G. There are some sub-sections also.
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