BJP funding increases 171% in FY25: Who are top donors
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received a whopping ₹6,074 crore in donations during the financial year 2024-25. This is a staggering 171% increase from the ₹2,243 crore it received in FY 2023-24, a report by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed. The BJP's declared donations are more than 10 times the combined total of four other major parties: Indian National Congress (INC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), and National People's Party (NPEP).
Funding comparison
BJP's donations dwarf other parties
The INC came in second with ₹517.394 crore from 2,501 donations. The AAP received ₹38.1 crore from 2,554 donations and the CPI(M) received ₹16.9 crore. The ADR report focuses on donations of ₹20,000 or more received by national political parties during the fiscal year 2024-25. Notably, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) did not report any donations above ₹20,000 for FY 2024-25.
Funding sources
Corporate donations to BJP
The total donations to national parties in FY 2024-25 stood at ₹6,648.563 crore from 11,343 donations. Corporate/business sectors contributed ₹6,128.787 crore (92.18%) of these donations, while individual donors (7,900) gave ₹505.66 crore (7.61%). The BJP alone received ₹5,717.167 crore from corporate/business sectors and ₹345.94 crore from individual donors during this period, over 13 times the corporate donations received by all other national parties combined in FY 2024-25.
Major contributors
Major donors to national parties
The Prudent Electoral Trust was the biggest donor to national parties in FY 2024-25, donating a total of ₹2,413.465 crore. The trust donated ₹2,180.7119 crore to the BJP alone, 35.90% of the BJP's total funds for the year. Other major donors include ArcelorMittal Nippon and Bharti Airtel Ltd through this trust. Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd also donated ₹100 crore to BJP while Rungta Sons Private Limited contributed ₹95 crore during this period.
Compliance requirement
Political funding disclosures mandatory for all registered parties
All registered political parties in India are mandated to file annual audit and contribution reports with the Election Commission of India (ECI). This is a statutory requirement under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and Income Tax Act, 1961. These disclosures are aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in political funding across the country.