Nine electoral trusts donated Rs 637 54 cr to parties in Four years

Nine electoral trusts donated Rs 637.54 crore to political parties between 2013-14 and 2016-17, with the BJP receiving Rs 488.94 crore and the Congress Rs 86.65 crore, a report said today.

Five national parties received 92.30 per cent (Rs 588.44 crore) of the total donations from electoral trusts, while 16 regional parties got only 7.70 per cent (Rs 49.09 crore) out of Rs 637.54 crore donations from electoral trusts, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed.

Among national parties, the BJP received the maximum donation of Rs 488.94 crore by electoral trusts between 2013-14 and 2016-17, while INC (Indian National Congress) got Rs 86.65 crore.

The BJP and the Congress are the only two political parties to receive donations from electoral trusts every financial year, it added.

Total donations to political parties during 2013-14 was Rs 85.37 crore, 2014-15 (Rs 177.40 crore), 2015-16 (Rs 49.50 crore) and 2016-17 (Rs 325.27 crore), the ADR said.

“Between 2013-14 and 2016-17, nine registered electoral trusts donated a total of Rs 637.54 crore of which only two electoral trusts (Prudent and Samaj Electoral Trusts) have donated more than twice,” it added.

Six electoral trusts, which declared contributions during 2016-17, received a total amount of Rs 325.45 crore from corporates and individuals and distributed Rs 325.27 crore to various political parties, the ADR said.

The BJP alone received Rs 290.22 crore or 89.22 per cent of the total donations received by all political parties from electoral trusts during 2016-17. Other nine political parties (including the INC, the SAD, the SP etc) received only Rs 35.05 crore collectively, the report said.

The Congress got Rs 16.5 crore followed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Rs 9 crore), it added.

Amongst all, Prudent Electoral Trust has received the highest, Rs 283.73 crore and distributed Rs 283.72 crore to six political parties during 2016-17.

Contributions received by Prudent Electoral Trust form 87.18 per cent of the total amount donated to all electoral trusts during 2016-17.

During 2016-17, Prudent Electoral Trust donated 88.90 per cent or Rs 252.22 crore to the BJP while Janta Nirvachak Electoral Trust donated 100 per cent or Rs 25 crore of its total income to the BJP.

Among contributions made by corporates and individuals, DLF contributed the highest overall amount worth Rs 28 crore amongst all donors of the electoral trusts, followed by UPL and JSW Energy who contributed Rs 25 crore each.

As per the report, two individuals donated to the electoral trusts during 2016-17 -- Suresh Kotak donated Rs 18.5 crore and Analjit Singh of Max Group gave Rs 1 crore.

Top 10 donors have donated Rs 190.60 crore to electoral trusts, which forms 58.57 per cent of the total donations received by the Trusts during 2016-17.

The report further added that 90.29 per cent or Rs 172.1 crore of the total amount of donations made by the top 10 donors was to Prudent Electoral.

Out of the 21 registered electoral trusts, 14 have been submitting copies of their contribution report to the Election Commission, consistently, since their registration.

Satya/Prudent Electoral Trust and Janhit Electoral Trust are the only two who have submitted their contribution report for all four years, 2013-14 to 2016-17.

Satya Electoral Trust changed its name to Prudent Electoral Trust during 2016-17.

There are 11 such registered electoral trusts who either have declared not receiving any contributions or have not submitted their reports, at all, since their registration.

Kalyan Electoral Trust has not even once submitted its contribution report to the ECI since its registration.

According to the rules formulated by the government, electoral trusts are required to donate 95 per cent of their total income to registered political parties in a financial year.

The ADR said that 14 out of the 21 electoral trusts, registered with the CBDT, submitted their contribution details for 2016-17 to the ECI of which only 6 declared to have received any donations during that year. One, Janshakti Electoral Trust, was registered only in September 2017.