Political parties may soon have to declare details of the sum total of all small contributions from the same donor that amount to less than ₹20,000 each, the Election Commission of India has suggested among other poll reforms, people familiar with the matter said.
Political parties have to at present disclose details of donations of ₹20,000 or more to the poll watchdog, including the entity they received it from. But individual payments under ₹20,000 are not subject to the same disclosure rules.
The commission has now sought an amendment to Form 24A, recommending that the form be modified so that the total contribution received in the same year from the same donor in smaller amounts that total ₹20,000 or more is also mentioned.
Other electoral reforms suggested by the commission to the law ministry include discouraging candidates from contesting from multiple constituencies, and proposing a fine for lawmakers who fight from two seats and win in both.
The proposals have been sent to the ministry after to a meeting held with officials and chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, the people said, seeking anonymity.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outstripped rival parties in attracting large donations from business houses and individuals in 2020-21, accounting for nearly 75% of all such funding, according to the mandatory annual contribution reports submitted to the election commission.
{{/usCountry}}The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outstripped rival parties in attracting large donations from business houses and individuals in 2020-21, accounting for nearly 75% of all such funding, according to the mandatory annual contribution reports submitted to the election commission.
{{/usCountry}}It received over ₹477 crore in donations of ₹20,000 or higher in 2020-21, almost 6.5 times the ₹74 crore garnered by the opposition Congress party.
The donations received by the BJP was lower than its collections in 2019-20 at ₹785.77 crore. While the BJP received donations from 2,206 contributors, the Congress received donations from 1,059 donors, their reports showed.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) received over ₹26.26 crore from 79 donors, followed by the Trinamool Congress, which got ₹42.51 crore from 26 donors. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) bagged ₹12.85 crore from 226 donors. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) declared zero donations over ₹20,000 for the second time in a row.
The declared donations are just the tip of an iceberg as far as contributions to political parties are concerned, an expert said.
“Declared donations are nowhere near total finances of a political party. But at the same time, it is a rough indicator,” said Jagdeep Chhokar, founder and trustee of the Association of Democratic Reforms, a non-partisan NGO. “Adding the lesser donations may help alleviate some of the problems, but it is not a solve all.”