The Bharatiya Janata Party had the highest income among the seven national parties surveyed, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms said. The saffron party’s income of Rs 1,034.27 in 2016-’17 accounted for 66% of the total income of Rs 1,559.17 crore reported by the seven parties.
The Indian National Congress’s income was a distant second at Rs 225.36 crore which accounts for 14.4% of the total income. The Communist Party of India reported the lowest income generated at Rs 2.08 crore or 0.13% of the total income.
The top two richest parties said donations and contributions were among their major sources of income.
The seven national parties declared a total expenditure of Rs 1,228.2 crore. The BJP reported the highest expenditure of Rs 606.6 crore on elections and Rs 69.7 crore on administrative costs. The Indian National Congress said it spent Rs 149.6 crore on poll-related expenses and Rs 115.6 crore on administrative and general expenses.
The Delhi-based think-tank compiled the data based on the parties’ income tax returns. The think-tank said the BJP, Indian National Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Communist Party India had consistently delayed in declaring their audit reports for the last five years.
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