Donations to the Aam Aadmi Party rose by 275% in the financial year 2014-15 from the last fiscal. This increase was more than double the amount other national parties grew by, a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms said. In 2013-14, AAP received Rs 9.42 crore, whereas the total donations declared by the party in in 2014-15 amounted to Rs 35.28 crore.
Between 2013 and 2015, nearly a quarter of the donations for AAP – Rs 11 crore – came from abroad, while the highest donations from India came from Maharashtra (23%) and Delhi (20%). Interestingly, while donations to AAP from Delhi rose drastically, by 1,460% in donations from the city to other national parties dropped to 83% in the same year, the report added.
AAP did not submit cheque or demand draft numbers of any of these transactions in the last two years. Most donations were made through bank transfers, according to the report. The names, addresses and PAN details of 111 donors, whose cumulative contribution was Rs 91.47 lakh, were not available in the AAP’s donations report. The top 10 donors did not provide complete details of their mode of payment either. National Secretary of the AAP Pankaj Gupta, who is in charge of funds, said, “It is possible that in some cases, PAN details or addresses of the donors are not mentioned, and that is because in several instances, donors just leave a cheque for us without mentioning their details.”
The ADR report added that funds received by the Bharatiya Janata Party increased 156% from Rs 170.86 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 437.35 crore in 2014-15. Congress received Rs 141.46 crore in donations in 2014-15, which is Rs 81.88 crore more than that the last fiscal, PTI reported.
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