Over 82 per cent of the funds received by seven electoral trusts from corporates and individuals went to the BJP, the poll rights organization ADR said.

In India, electoral trusts were formed for the purpose of receiving contributions to political parties from corporations and individuals. It aims at improving transparency in the usage of funds for election-related expenses.

As part of its new report, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) notes that 16 out of 23 electoral trusts sent the Election Commission of India details of their contributions for the financial year 2020-21, only seven of which reported receiving funds. "Seven electoral trusts which have declared receiving contributions during FY 2020-21, have received a total amount of ₹ 258.4915 crores from corporates and individuals and distributed ₹ 258.4301 cr (99.98 per cent) to various political parties," it stated.

A total of * 212.05 crores or 82.05 per cent of these donations went to the BJP, while the JDU secured * 27 crores or 10.45 per cent.

Ten other political parties -- the Congress, NCP, AIADMK, DMK, RJD, the AAP, the LJP, the CPM, the CPI, and Loktantrik Janta Dal - received 19.38 crores.

In compliance with government rules, electoral trusts must make distributions to eligible political parties by March 31 of at least 95 per cent of all contributions received during a financial year, including surpluses from the previous financial year.

Reports produced by the ADR analyze details about those who made contributions to political parties through seven electoral trusts formed after January 2013.

The Election Commission has consistently received copies of contributions from 14 of the 23 registered electoral trusts.

In addition, eight trusts stated that they had not received any contribution or that they had not received their contribution reports since registering with ECI.

In fiscal year 2020-21, 159 individuals contributed to electoral trusts.