Who funds Trinamool Congress? Electoral trusts, lottery firm among top donors

The Mumbai-based Progressive Electoral Trust, whose main contributors are Tata Group companies, gave Rs 10 crore to the party, while iron, steel, and cement conglomerate Rashmi Cement Ltd gave the ruling party in West Bengal Rs 5 crore. The group has a corporate office in Kolkata, and factories in Kharagpur in Paschim Medinipur district and Jhargram.

Among the other companies that donated significant sums to the TMC are: stainless steel manufacturer and exporter Shyam Ferro Alloys Ltd, which contributed Rs 3 crore; Rs 3 crore from Kolkata-based trading and mining company Kejriwal Mining; Rs 2 crore from iron and steel manufacturer Super Smelters that runs a captive power plant at the Jamuria Industrial Estate in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district; and Rs 2 crore from plastic manufacturer IVL Dhanseri Petrochem Industries, which has factories in the port city of Haldia in Purba Medinipur district and Karnal in Punjab.

The highest individual donor was ⁠Kishan Gopal Mohta, a finance professional who contributed Rs 3 crore to the TMC’s coffers.

When the electoral bond data was released in 2024, TMC was found to have redeemed Rs 1,609 crore between April 2019 and January 2024, the second-highest after the BJP. In the 2023-24 financial year, the party received about Rs 612 crore from electoral bonds.

“The BJP is the richest party in India, if not in the world, so of course they have declared such a high amount. The Central government also helps corporate groups, so naturally, they will help the BJP. We declared whatever we got from different organisations,” said TMC spokesperson Jay Prakash Majumdar.

Donations by its own

Almost 199 of the TMC’s 213 MLAs also contributed to the party fund, making donations running from Rs 22,000 to Rs 30,000. Among them are ministers such as Bratya Basu, Babul Supriyo, Aroop Biswas, Chandrima Bhattacharya, and Firhad Hakim.

Forty MPs and ex-MPs also made donations, including Kolkata Dakshin MP Mala Roy, who contributed Rs 6.12 lakh; Jangipur MP Khalilur Rahman, who contributed Rs 3.8 lakh; Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra, who donated Rs 1 lakh to the fund; and Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghoshe who contributed Rs 1.2 lakh.

(From electoral trusts to companies and individuals, in a series of articles, The Indian Express examines the funding sources of political parties as mentioned in their contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission. These reports are for 2024-25, the first year after the Supreme Court scrapped the government’s electoral bonds scheme.)

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• Who funds Trinamool Congress? Electoral trusts, lottery firm among top donors