Parties declare sharp rise in funding following scrapping of electoral bonds
While the BJP is yet to submit its report, the Congress tops the list with ₹517.37 crore, nearly doubling its ₹281.48 crore inflow in 2023-24
Political parties have reported a sharp rise in declared contributions for 2024-25 in the first full year after electoral bonds were scrapped. While the BJP is yet to submit its report, the Congress tops the list with ₹517.37 crore, nearly doubling its ₹281.48 crore inflow in 2023-24, while Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) receipts surged to ₹184.96 crores from just ₹6.52 crore last year. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reported contributions of ₹38.10 crore, up from ₹11.06 crore, and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) saw its receipts rise to ₹11.09 crore from ₹11.67 lakh. Regional parties, including BJD and TDP, also disclosed higher contributions compared with the previous year.
Electoral bonds, introduced in 2018 as a mechanism for anonymous political donations, allowed individuals and corporates to contribute to parties without disclosing their identity publicly. The scheme became a dominant source of high-value funding for national and regional parties over seven years. In February 2024, the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bonds framework, ruling that it lacked sufficient transparency and accountability. Since then, parties have increasingly relied on electoral trusts and direct corporate contributions to raise funds. The 2024-25 financial year marks the first full year of funding in the post-bond era, reflecting a structural shift in how parties secure high-value donations.
The Congress’s Form 24A filing shows that electoral trusts contributed the bulk of its funding. Prudent Electoral Trust transferred ₹216.33 crore to it, up from ₹156 crore in 2023-24, followed by ₹77.34 crore from Progressive Electoral Trust and ₹15 crore from AB General Electoral Trust. Smaller trust-linked inflows included ₹5 crore from Democratic Electoral Trust and ₹9.5 lakh from Jankalyan Electoral Trust. Collectively, trusts accounted for over ₹313 crore of the Congress’ contributions. Congress leader P Chidambaram donated ₹3 crore, one of the highest individual donations to the party. Other leaders such as Karnataka CM Sidaramaiah, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also made donations to the party.
Alongside trusts, corporates contributed significant sums to the Congress. Hindustan Zinc (Vedanta Group) contributed ₹10 crore, and ITC, ₹6 crore. Several inflows originated from Bellary district in Karnataka, reflecting continued corporate support in regions where Congress retains political influence. The party governs the state.
The TMC reported a sharp rise in funding. Internal documents show corporate contributions including ₹50 crore from a company called Tiger Associates. Donations from trusts included ₹92 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust and ₹10 crore from Progressive Electoral Trust. Smaller individual contributions, ranging from ₹70,000 to ₹1.3 lakh, were recorded from TMC leaders Deepak Adhikari, Kalyan Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, and Dola Sen. The rise in donations to the party comes in the run-up to the state elections early next year.
The AAP received ₹2 crore from Samaj Electoral Trust, ₹5 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust, and ₹10 crore from Progressive Electoral Trust .
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) disclosed contributions of ₹83.04 crore, including multiple contributions from Prudent Electoral Trust aggregating ₹25 crore, and contributions from AB General Electoral Trust ( ₹5 crore).
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh received ₹140 crore, down from ₹184 crore the previous year. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi declared contributions of ₹15.09 crore, including ₹10 crore from Progressive Electoral Trust and ₹5 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) reported ₹60 crore, with ₹25 crore from Vedanta Limited and the balance from trusts.
