Corporate donations to political parties through electoral trusts tripled to Rs 3,811 crore in 2024-25 after the Supreme Court scrapped the contentious electoral bonds, The Indian Express has reported.
According to contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI), nine electoral trusts donated a total of Rs 3,811.37 crore to political parties. Of that, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the Union government, received Rs 3,112.50 crore – nearly 82% of the total funds.
The Congress received approximately Rs 298.77 crore, constituting under 8% of the total donations, while other parties collectively received the balance of approximately Rs 400 crore.
This surge in trust-based funding marks a significant shift following the Supreme Court’s decision to declare the anonymous electoral bond scheme unconstitutional. In the previous financial year (2023-24), total contributions by trusts stood at Rs 1,218 crore.
Who are the major donors?
Prudent Electoral Trust emerged as the largest donor, disbursing a total of Rs 2,668.46 crore, of which, Rs 2,180.71 crore went to the BJP.
The trust, backed by Bharti Enterprises, the parent company of Bharti Airtel, received funds from major corporates including Jindal Steel and Power, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd., Bharti Airtel, Aurobindo Pharma, and Torrent Pharmaceuticals, among others.
The Progressive Electoral Trust, which accumulated a corpus from Tata Group companies including Tata Sons, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Tata Steel, was the other major donor, having donated Rs 914.97 crore. Approximately 81% of this amount went to the BJP.
Other notable contributions
The New Democratic Electoral Trust, funded by the Mahindra Group (Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra), donated Rs 150 crore to the BJP out of a total contribution of Rs 160 crore.
The Triumph Electoral Trust, with CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited as its largest contributor, donated Rs 21 crore to the BJP out of a total of Rs 25 crore.
The Janpragati Electoral Trust was the sole entity to donate to the Shiv Sena (UBT), contributing Rs 1 crore from funds received largely from KEC International Limited.
Meanwhile, the Jankalyan Electoral Trust split its total contribution of Rs 19 lakh equally between the BJP and the Congress.
Table: ELECTORAL TRUST DONATIONS (2024-25)
| Trust Name | Money donated (total) | to BJP | to Congress |
| Prudent Electoral Trust | Rs 2,668.46 cr | Rs 2,180.71 cr | Rs 21.63 cr |
| Progressive Electoral Trust | Rs 914.97 cr | Rs 757.62 cr | Rs 77.34 cr |
| New Democratic Electoral Trust | Rs 160 cr | Rs 150 cr | Rs 5 cr |
| Harmony Electoral Trust | Rs 35.65 cr | Rs 30.15 cr | 0 |
| Triumph Electoral Trust | Rs 25 cr | Rs 21 cr | 0 |
| Samaj Electoral Trust Association | Rs 6 cr | ₹3 cr | 0 |
| Janpragati Electoral Trust | Rs 1.02 cr | 0 | 0 |
| Jankalyan Electoral Trust | Rs 19 lakh | Rs 9.50 lakh | Rs 9.50 lakh |
| Einzigartig Electoral Trust | Rs 7.75 lakh | Rs 7.75 lakh | 0 |
| TOTAL | Rs 3,811.37 cr | Rs 3,112.50 cr | Rs 298.77 cr |
(Source: The Indian Express/ECI Data)
(This article was first published in The Wire)
Also Read: Eight Political Parties Collect Donations Worth ₹15,000 Crore From ‘Unknown’ Sources https://www.vibesofindia.com/eight-political-parties-collect-donations-worth-%e2%82%b915000-crore-from-unknown-sources/
