The BJP continues to get the lion’s share of donations among national parties, data from compliance reports for the 2020-21 financial year submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) shows. The reports reveal details of contributions greater than Rs 20,000, called ‘large donations’, from individuals and business houses.

According to Hindustan Times, the BJP accounted for nearly 75% of all large donations received by national parties in 2020-21. It received more than Rs 477 crore, more than six times the Rs 74 crore reported by the Congress party, which received the second highest large donations. This is the eight-consecutive year that the BJP has reported the highest donations from individuals and business houses.

In all, the compliance reports of eight recognised national parties showed that they received more than Rs 633.66 crore during 2020-21 in donations larger than Rs 20,000. In FY 2019-20, an election year, the national parties declared that they had received more than Rs 1,000 crore in donations larger than Rs 20,000.

All political parties are required to declare donations in excess of Rs 20,000. This does not include money raised through the sale of electoral bonds. The actual money received by the national parties is likely much more, as parties are not mandated to report donations less than Rs 20,000.

The compliance reports of other national parties show that the Trinamool Congress received Rs 42.51 crore, the Nationalist Congress Party more than Rs 26 crore, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) received Rs 12.85 crore, the Communist Party of India received Rs 2.12 crore and the National People’s Party received Rs 59 lakh. The Bahujan Samaj Party did not declare any donations greater than Rs 20,000 for the second consecutive year.