Political parties received Rs 7,833 crore, or 69% of their total income, from undisclosed sources in 11 years till 2015, according to a report compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms. The Congress (83% of its total income) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (65% of its total income) got maximum funds from undisclosed sources. The total funds received by political parties, both national and regional, between financial years 2004-2005 and 2014-2015 was Rs 11,367.34 crore.
The amount received from donors disclosed by political parties was only 16% of their total income, while that earned by selling assets, membership fees, bank interest, sale of publications, party levy, etc, made up for only 15%. While the Congress got Rs 3,323.39 crore from undisclosed sources, the BJP got Rs 2,125.91 crore. Income from such sources went up by 313% for national parties during the period.
The Samajwadi Party topped the list among regional parties for income from undisclosed sources. Around 94% (Rs 766.27 crore) of the total income of the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh came from such sources, followed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Rs 88.06 crore or 86%). The Bahujan Samaj Party received all its funds from undisclosed sources. Income by regional parties from such sources increased by 652% during the 11 years.
The Congress reported the highest income among all parties at Rs 3,982.09 crore, followed by the BJP (Rs 3,272.63 crore). Among regional parties, the SP got the maximum donation at Rs 819.1 crore, followed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Rs 203.02 crore) and the AIADMK (Rs 165.01 crore).
For donations above Rs 20,000 declared by national parties, the BJP topped the list with Rs 917.86 crore, while the DMK led among the region parties in the category with Rs 129.83 crore.
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