BJP received Rs 785 crore in donations in 2019-20, five times more than Congress
During 2018-19, BJP received donations worth Rs 785 crore from electoral trusts, individuals and corporates. The amount received by the party is five times more than what Congress got during the same period. The share of Progressive Electoral Trust was 75 per cent of this amount
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received over Rs 785 crore in donations from electoral trusts, individuals and corporates in 2019-20, according to the party's latest contribution report to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The amount received by the party is five times more than what Congress got during the same period.
Many party leaders like Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Lok Sabha MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar have contributed to the party.
Meanwhile, some corporates have also been among the major contributors to the BJP. Among the highest contributors are Haldiram, Muthoot Finance, Hero Cycle and ITC. Many trusts including Triumph Electoral Trust, Prudent Electoral Trust, New Democratic Electoral Trust and Jankalyan Electoral Trust have also contributed to the party's kitty.
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An electoral trust offers donors anonymity while making a political contribution. It is a Section 25 company that receives voluntary contributions, mainly from corporate houses and distributes them to political parties. The Supreme Court has reserved its order on electoral bonds.
The Prudent Electoral Trust has Bharti Enterprises, GMR Airport Developers and DLF Limited as its major donors.
Many educational institutes also contributed to the party, including GD Goenka International School, Surat; Mewar University, Delhi (Rs 2 crore), Allen Career, Kota (Rs 25 lakh). Also, the Chairman of Manipal Global Education, TV Mohandas Pai, donated Rs 15 lakhs.
The report only lists donations above Rs. 20,000.
BJP's total amount of donations is over 98 times as much as contributions to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which received Rs 8 crore for the same period. On the other hand, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) received Rs 19.7 crores while the CPI got Rs 1.3 crores as contributions.
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