Nine electoral trusts have 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 on Monday.
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) said.
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.
Out of the 21 registered electoral trusts, 14 have been submitting copies of their contribution report to the Election Commission, consistently, since their registration.
The Satya/Prudent Electoral Trust and the Janhit Electoral Trust are the only two who have submitted their contribution report for all four years, 2013-14 to 2016-17.
The Satya Electoral Trust changed its name to Prudent Electoral Trust during 2016-17.
There are 11 such registered electoral trusts which either have declared not receiving any contributions or have not submitted their reports, at all, since their registration.
The 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.
Six electoral trusts which have declared receiving contributions during 2016-17, have received a total amount of Rs 325.45 crore from corporates and individuals and distributed Rs 325.27 crore to various political parties, it said.
Amongst all, the 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 the Prudent Electoral Trust form 87.18 per cent of the total amount donated to all electoral trusts during 2016-17.
During 2016-17, the 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.
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. (PTI)