Electoral trust is a non-profit organisation formed in India for orderly receiving of contributions from corporate entities and individuals to political parties.
The BJP received ₹ 351.50 crore or 72.17 per cent of the total donations made to political parties by Electoral Trusts in 2021-22, while the Congress received less than the TRS, Samajwadi Party, AAP and the YSR Congress, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms.
Electoral trust is a non-profit organisation formed in India for orderly receiving of contributions from corporate entities and individuals to political parties.
It aims at improving transparency in the usage of funds for election-related expenses.
The Association for Democratic Reforms, in its analysis of Electoral Trusts, said ₹ 351.50 crore or 72.17 per cent of the total donations received by all political partiesin 2021-22 went to the BJP.
According to ADR, the Congress received ₹ 18.44 crore from electoral trust, while the TRS received ₹ 40 crore, Samajwadi Party ₹ 27 crore, Aam Aadmi Party ₹ 21.12 crore and YSR Congress ₹ 20 crore.
The SAD received ₹ 7 crore, Punjab Lok Congress Party ₹ 1 crore, Goa Forward Party and DMK ₹ 50 lakh each through electoral trust, the report said.
Electoral Trusts which have declared receiving contributions during FY 2021-22, have received a total amount of ₹ 487.09 crore from corporates and individuals and distributed ₹ 487.06 crore (99.99 per cent) to various political parties, the Association for Democratic Reforms said.
Eighty-nine corporate/business houses contributed ₹ 475.80 crore to Electoral Trusts in FY 2021-22, 62 contributed ₹ 456.30 crore to Prudent Electoral Trust, two corporates contributed ₹ 10.00 crore to AB General Electoral Trust, three corporates contributed ₹ 5 crore to Samaj Electoral Trust and 15 corporates contributed ₹ 2.20 crore to Independent Electoral Trust.
The ADR said 40 individuals have contributed to Electoral Trusts in FY 2021-22, 13 individuals contributed ₹ 8.53 crore to Prudent Electoral Trust, 15 individuals contributed ₹ 2.61 crore to Independent Electoral Trust and 12 individuals gave a total of ₹ 14.34 lakh to Small Donation Electoral Trust.