The Opposition parties may be insisting that the popularity of BJP is going down, however, based on the saffron party's income records, the BJP is still earning hefty donations, nearly double that of 6 other national parties combined.

According to updated annual audit reports filed with the Election Commission, in 2016-17 the BJP's income rose by 81 percent to Rs 1,034 crore as compared to its income of Rs 570 crore in 2015-16. In the year 2016-17, all national parties, namely, Congress, BSP, Trinamool Congress, CPM, CPI, NCP and the BJP earned a total income of Rs 1,559 crore out of which Rs 1,034 was solely that of BJP.

BJP's income of Rs 1,034 crore is equivalent to the income of all 7 national parties, including BJP in the year 2015-16. From the total income of the BJP in 2016-17, Rs 997 crore came from voluntary donations.

Income of Political Parties

The Congress party's income in 2016-17 was Rs 225 crore, a fall from the Rs 261 crore earned by the party in 2015-16. The income of Mayawati's BSP in 2016-17 was Rs 173.6 crore, a considerable increase from the Rs 47.4 crore income the party recorded the previous year. The CPM recorded an income of Rs 100 crore in 2016-17, a decrease from the Rs 107 crore earned the previous year.

The Trinamool Congress declared a meagre income of R 6.3 crore in 2016-17, a decrease from the Rs 34.5 crore recorded the previous year. The CPI in 2016-17 declared an income of Rs 2.1 crore and an income of Rs 10.2 crore in 2015-16, while the NCP's income increased to Rs 17.2 crore in 2016-17 from the Rs 9.1 crore in 2015-16.