Analysis of Donations Received by National Parties – FY 2013-14

-          Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the only National Party which is yet to submit its donations report to the ECI

-          90% of donations to National Parties from corporates/ business houses

-          The total donations of INC, NCP and CPI during FY 2013-14 increased by Rs 62.69 crores, an increase of 517%, from the previous financial year, 2012-13

-          Donations to CPM reduced from Rs 3.81 crores during FY 2012-13 to Rs 2.097 crores during FY 2013-14 (45% decrease)

-          A total of Rs 3.81 crores (84%) was donated by known party members of INC and Rs 1.82 crores (89%) was donated by known party members of CPM

On the declaration of donations by the National Parties, Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, Founder-Trustee of ADR, has stated, “Ninety per cent of the donations being from corporates shows the increasing hold of the corporate sector on political parties which is somewhat disconcerting. The ruling party not submitting its donation report is not a good sign as it possibly indicates a lack of respect for integrity of institutions which is not healthy for a democracy.”

Political parties are required to submit their contributions report before the due date for furnishing a return of their income for FY 2013-14 which was 31^st October, 2014. ECI received the donations report of BSP on 13^th Sept,’14, of NCP on 17^th Sept,’14, of CPI on 23^rdSept,’14 and of CPM and INC on 30^th Sept,’14. BSP declared that the party did not receive any donations above Rs 20,000 during FY 2013-14, as it has declared in the past.

Executive Summary

I.            Number of donors contributing above Rs 20,000 to National Parties from all over India (FY 2013-14)

a.       The total amount of donations above Rs 20,000 received by National Political Parties during FY 2013-14 is calculated from the donations report submitted to the Election Commission annually.

b.      The total amount of donations above Rs 20,000 declared by the National Parties was Rs. 76.93 crores, from 881 donations.

c.       On an average, INC received Rs 11.70 lakhs per unique donor*, NCP: Rs 1 crore, CPI: Rs 3.23 lakhs and CPM: Rs 4.03 lakhs per unique donor.

Party	Total number of donations	Total number of unique donors (a)	Total amount contributed (b)	Average amount of donation per unique donor (b/a)
INC	743	509	Rs 59,58,37,728  (~Rs 59.58 crores)	Rs 11,70,605 (~ Rs 11.70 lakhs)
NCP	15	14	Rs 14,02,00,000  (~Rs 14.02 crores)	Rs 1,00,14,286 (~ Rs 1 crore)
CPI	53	38	Rs 1,22,81,544  (~Rs 1.22 crores)	Rs 3,23,199 (~ Rs 3.23 lakhs)
CPM	70	52	Rs 2,09,74,666  (~Rs 2.09 crores)	Rs 4,03,359 (~ Rs 4.03 lakhs)
Total	881	613	Rs 76.93 crores	Rs 12.54 lakhs

                                           *Unique donor: A donor who might or might not have made multiple donations during FY 2013-14

 II.            Comparison of donations received by National Parties during FY 2012-13 and FY 2013-14

a.       Donations to INC increased from Rs 11.72 crores during FY 2012-13 to Rs 59.58 crores during FY 2013-14 (408% increase).

b.      In FY 2012-13, donations declared by BJP was more than the aggregate declared by the INC, NCP, CPI and CPM during FY 2013-14. BJP had declared a total of Rs 83.19 crores received above Rs 20,000 during FY 2012-13.

                                        

III.            Top 3 donors to National Parties

                                                     

a.       Bharti Group’s Satya Electoral Trust donated the maximum amount of Rs 36.5 crores to INC followed by A.V.Patil Foundation which donated Rs 5 crores and Bharat Forge Ltd. which donated Rs 2.50 crores. It is to be noted that none of the above 3 donors donated to INC during FY 2012-13.

b.      The top 3 donors to NCP were Satya Electoral Trust (Rs 4 crores), followed by Shirke Infrastructure (Rs 2 crores) andSerum Institute of India Ltd. (Rs 1.50 crores). It is to be noted that none of the above 3 donors donated to NCP during FY 2012-13.

c.    Donations to CPI were by means of collection, levy and membership fees. Maximum amount was from Gurudas Dasgupta (Rs 25 lakhs) followed by Andhra Pradesh State Council, CPI (Rs 14.96 lakhs) and Kerala State Council, CPI (Rs 11.53 lakhs).

IV.            Donors from Corporates/ business sectors Vs. Individual donors

a.       35 donations from corporate/business sectors amounting to Rs 55.02 crores were made to INC while 708 individualdonors donated Rs 4.56 crores.

b.      13 donations from corporate/ business sectors aggregating to Rs 14 crores were made to NCP while 2 individual donors donated Rs 2 lakhs.

c.    While 4 donations to CPI were made from Unions and a Memorial Trust which aggregated to Rs 2.75 lakhs, CPM received a total of Rs 5 lakhs from 4 corporate/ business houses during FY 2013-14.

                                                                                             

V.            Donations by party members for FY 2013-14

a.       A total of Rs 3.81 crores (84%) was donated by known party members of INC. Top donation was made by Shri Hassen Lyngdoh (Rs 66.37 lakhs) followed by Shri Mukul Sangma (Rs 10 lakhs) and Shri W.H.Pala (Rs 7.02 lakhs).

b.      A total of Rs 1.82 crores (89%) was donated by known party members of CPM. Top 3 donations of Rs 9.60 lakhs each was made by Shri Jarna Das followed by Shri K N Balagopal and Shri P Rajeev.

c.       There were no donations above Rs 20,000 from known party members of NCP whereas CPI members declareddonations collected via contributions and levy.

VI.            State-wise donations to National Parties

a.   A total of Rs 45.49 crores was donated to the National Parties from Delhi by both corporates and individuals together followed by Rs 18.12 crores from Maharashtra and Rs 3.01 crores from Gujarat.

b.      Of the donations received, INC received maximum donations from Delhi (Rs 39.05 crores), as did CPI (Rs 54.6 lakhs) andCPM (Rs 1.88 crores) while NCP received maximum donations from Maharashtra (Rs 8.02 crores).

                                                         

VII.            Incomplete disclosure of information in the donations report

a.       INC has not followed the format prescribed by the ECI in declaring its donations details. The column for declaring PAN details of donors is not provided in the contributions reports. Without the PAN details, it would be difficult to link the donors against their donations and hence trace the money trail.

b.      A total of Rs 2.88 lakhs was declared by INC as an outstanding amount thereby not declaring the mode of payment of these funds.

c.       A total of Rs 17.40 lakhs was declared by the National Parties without disclosing mode of payment of these donations.

d.      A total of Rs 6.66 crores was declared by INC, CPI and CPM as amounts received by cheque/DD without disclosing corresponding cheque/DD numbers, name of the bank/ branch on which the cheque was drawn, etc. which would aid in tracking the donations. These incomplete details account for 9% of the total donations received in cheque/DD/ fund transfer.

Recommendations of ADR

a.       The Supreme Court gave a judgment on September 13, 2013 declaring that no part of a candidate’s affidavit should be left blank. Similarly, no part of the Form 24A submitted by political parties providing details of donations above Rs 20,000 should be blank.

b.      There is ambiguity in cash donations declared by INC which amounted to Rs 1.578 crores in FY 2013-14. While CPI has declared that the party’s donations by individuals were by means of collections/ levy/ memberships, INC has not made any such remarks though it is part of the prescribed format of the Election Commission of India. Thus, there is a need for clarity in large amounts of cash donations by individuals.   

c.       Full details of all donors should be made available for public scrutiny under the RTI. Some countries where this is done include Bhutan, Nepal, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, the US and Japan. In none of these countries is it possible for 75% of the source of funds to be unknown, but at present it is so in India. 

d.   The National and regional political parties must provide all information on their finances under the Right to Information Act. This will go a long way to strengthen political parties, elections and democracy. For more information, please refer to http://adrindia.org/content/political-parties-unitedly-boycott-cic-hearing-non-compliance-political-parties-under-rti

For details of 'Multiple donations made by top donors', cash donations to National Parties and list of top donors to the parties, please refer to the document attached with the release.

Regards​

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Media and Journalist Helpline +91 80103 94248 Email: adr@adrindia.org

Maj Gen Anil Verma (Retd.) Head National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms +91 8826479910 anilverma@adrindia.org

Prof Jagdeep Chhokar IIM Ahmedabad (Retd) Founder Member National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms +919999620944 jchhokar@gmail.com

Prof Trilochan Sastry IIM Bangalore Founder Member, National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms +919448353285, trilochans@iimb.ernet.in