Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha received donations of Rs 692.609 crore, including Rs 622 crore through electoral bonds, between FY 2016-17 and 2021-22, which is the highest among all regional political parties in the country, according to reports. 

The report released by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said between the financial year 2016-17 and 2021-22, the BJD declared the highest total donations worth Rs 692.609 crore followed by TRS (Rs 476.893 core), DMK (Rs 475.73 crore) and YSR-Congress (Rs 456.206 crore).

More than 89.81 per cent of BJD’s total donations came through Electoral Bonds which stands at Rs 622 crore, according to the report.

The report says among the 24 regional political parties, the total income from direct corporate donations in the six-year period amounted to Rs 719.6920 crore. Some of the political parties that declared receiving maximum direct corporate contributions during this period include SHS, YSR-C, JDU, TRS, BJD, AAP, AIADMK, SP, SAD, TDP and DMK.

In the six-year period, direct corporate donations declared by Regional parties increased by 152.029 per cent, said the ARD report.