The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received Rs 356 crore in donations from an electoral trust controlled by the Tata Group during 2018-19, the highest amount received by the party from any corporate. The amount was revealed after the ruling BJP submitted documents to the Election Commission.
As per information provided by the BJP to the EC on October 31, it received a total of over Rs 700 crore in donations through cheques and online payments during the financial year 2018-19. Around half the contributions -- Rs 356 crore -- were made by the Tata-controlled Progressive Electoral Trust.
India's richest trust -- The Prudent Electoral Trust -- gave Rs 54.25 crore in donations to the party, according to the documents. The Prudent Trust is backed by top corporate houses including Bharti Group, Hero MotoCorp, Jubilant Foodworks, Orient Cement, DLF, JK Tyres, among others.
The information provided pertains to donations of Rs 20,000 and above each that were received by the party through cheques or online payments. Donations received in the form of electoral bonds were not included in the filing. The BJP received donations from individuals, companies as well as electoral trusts, the document said.
As per the election code, political parties are mandated to disclose all donations they receive in a financial year. At present, political parties are not required to declare the names of individuals and organisations giving less than Rs 20,000 or of those who donate via electoral bonds.
(With agency inputs)
