BJP got Rs 719 cr in donations last yr, minus poll bonds

The report includes details of all donations of Rs 20,000 and above in the form of cheque, bank transfer, online transaction and UPI payment.

As per the report, about 35% of the donations in 2022-23 came from Prudent Electoral Trust, which gave the BJP Rs 256.25 crore in total. The Einzigartig Electoral Trust and Triumph Electoral Trust have Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, respectively.

The party’s total donations from individuals, trusts, companies and associations in 2021-22 stood at Rs 614.52 crore.

The list of donors have names of party leaders, including chief ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh) and Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh).

Among donors are also small businesses, private schools, education and charitable trusts, mining companies, construction firms, waste management companies, distilleries and restaurants. Plant nurseries, wine shops, ‘atta chakkis’ and hardware stores are among the small businesses in the donors’ list.

While parties are required to submit details of all donations above Rs 20,000, including the name, PAN card and address of the donor, donations via Electoral Bonds are exempt from the same disclosure requirements, except for giving the total amount received to the Election Commission in their annual audited accounts statement.

In 2021-22, the BJP declared Rs 1,033.70 crore through electoral bonds in its annual audit report, and Rs 614.52 crore through other contributions.

The EC also published the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s contribution report on Thursday. The party declared donations of Rs 6.02 crore. Among national parties, the AAP has declared Rs 37 crore and the BSP declared nil donations in their reports for 2022-23. The EC is yet to publish the reports of the other parties, including Congress.