New Delhi: Covaxin-maker Bharat Biotech International Ltd contributed Rs 50 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the financial year 2023-2024. The BJP received over Rs 2,243.9 crore during the period, while the Congress got Rs 280 crore, according to contribution reports for the two parties released by the Election Commission (EC).
The reports showed donations received by the parties till 31 March 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. These contributions do not include contributions made through electoral bonds received till the Supreme Court struck down the scheme in February this year.
BJP received over Rs 723 crore from the Prudent Electoral Trust, over Rs 127.50 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust and over Rs 17 lakh from Einzigartig Electoral Trust.
It also received a contribution of Rs 51 crore from Gurugram-based ACME Solar Energy Pvt Limited, Rs 50 crore each from Ahmedabad-based Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd, Derive Investments and Rungta Sons Pvt Ltd; Rs 30 crore from Itc Infotech India Ltd; and over Rs 29 crore from Dilip Buildcon Limited; and 27 crore from Macrotech Developers Ltd. It received Rs 4.3 crore from Samson Borang from Arunachal Pradesh.
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Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd, which featured prominently in the electoral bond scheme buyers list as well, contributed Rs 3 crore to the BJP during this period. The Coimbatore-based company owned by ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin, was the largest purchaser of electoral bonds and had donated Rs 542 crore to the All India Trinamool Congress—its highest contribution to any political party.
BJP also received Rs 25 crore from Hindustan Zinc Ltd and another Rs 2 crore from Zerodha Commodities. In total, the BJP received more than 172 donations of over a crore each, of which more than 20 donations were of 10 lakh each or more.
As for the Congress, according to the EC’s contribution report, it received over Rs 150 crore from the Prudent Electoral Trust—the only trust that donated to the party. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) got Rs 85 crore from the Prudent Electoral Trust, while YSR Congress received Rs. 62.5 crore from it.
Congress also received multiple donations from various party leaders, including Rs 5 lakh from Priyank Kharge, Rs 2.76 lakh from Ajay Maken, Rs 67,000 from Srinivas B.V., and over Rs 2 lakh from Kamal Nath.
It also received Rs 1.38 lakh each from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Digvijaya Singh, Nana Patole, Supriya Shrinate, Salman Khurshid, Pawan Khera, Ashok Gehlot, Navjot Singh Sidhu, and Mallikarjun Kharge.
The party launched the ‘Donate for Desh’ online crowdfunding campaign last December to mark the Congress completing 138 years, encouraging supporters to donate in multiples of Rs 138.
Among other donors, Classic Featherlite Waterfront Developers LLP gave Rs 7 crore to Congress and Century Plyboard India Ltd gave it Rs 5 crore. The Indian Youth Congress donated Rs 2 lakh to the INC. The party also received donations of Rs 1.10 lakh under ‘Happy Birthday to our leader–JKB’. Derive Investments also contributed Rs 20 lakh to the Congress.
The EC’s contribution report showed that Aam Aadmi Party received just over 11 crore in donations; Communist Part of India (Marxist) Rs 7.6 crore, Telugu Desam Party over Rs 100 crore; Samajwadi Party more than Rs 46 lakh; and Trinamool Congress Rs 6.42 crore.
The BRS declared that it did not receive any donation over Rs 20,000—a claim that it has been making for more than 17 years.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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