The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reported the highest income among national parties in the financial year 2023-24, declaring a total income of Rs 4,340.47 crore, according to a report by the poll rights body Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). The amount constituted 74.57 per cent of the total income of six national parties during the period under review.
The BJP spent 50.96 per cent of its declared income, amounting to Rs 2,211.69 crore. The Congress has reported a total income of Rs 1,225.12 crore, with an expenditure of Rs 1,025.25 crore, accounting for 83.69 per cent of its earnings.
A major portion of the income for national parties came from donations through electoral bonds.
The BJP received Rs 1,685.63 crore through this scheme, while the Congress obtained Rs 828.36 crore and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received Rs 10.15 crore. These three parties collectively raised Rs 2,524.1361 crore through electoral bonds, representing 43.36 per cent of their total income.
The Supreme Court had struck down the electoral bond scheme as “unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary” in May last year.
Data provided by the State Bank of India in response to an RTI application filed by ADR indicated that Rs 4,507.56 crore worth of electoral bonds were redeemed by various political parties in the 2023-24 fiscal year. National parties accounted for Rs 2,524.1361 crore, representing 55.99 per cent of the total amount redeemed.
The Congress allocated the highest expenditure towards election-related costs, amounting to Rs 619.67 crore, followed by Rs 340.702 crore on administrative and general expenses. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) reported an expenditure of Rs 56.29 crore on administrative and general expenses and Rs 47.57 crore on employee costs.
Among the six national parties, a total of Rs 2,669.87 crore was received through donations and contributions. The report also noted that only the Congress (Rs 58.56 crore) and CPI(M) (Rs 11.32 crore) declared receiving a total of Rs 69.88 crore from the sale of coupons.
The audit reports of the BJP, Congress, and CPI(M) were submitted with delays ranging from 12 to 66 days. The report concluded that the most common expenditure among national parties was directed towards elections and administrative expenses.
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