Twenty-seven (27) regional parties have received an amount of Rs 233.686 cr, from 6923 donations in the financial year 2019-20.
According to a report prepared by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Shiv Sena leads with Rs 62.859 cr from 436 donations followed by AIADMK, which has declared receiving Rs 52.17 cr from 3 donations.
The report is prepared on the basis of declarations submitted by the regional parties to the Election Commission of India for the financial year 2019-2020.
Political parties are required to prepare a report providing details of contributions in excess of twenty thousand rupees from any person in a particular financial year to avail 100% tax exemption under Section 29C (1) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951. However, in FY 2019-20, 7 regional parties (IUML, DMK, PMK, MNS, JVM-P, SDF, and NPF) have also provided details of donations received below Rs 20,000 in their contribution reports.
AAP declared receiving Rs 37.37 cr that is the third-highest amongst all regional parties. BJD and YSR-C have declared total donations of Rs 28.20 cr and Rs 8.924 cr respectively. As much as 81.10% or Rs 189.523 cr of the total donations received by regional parties have been received solely by the top 5 regional parties.
The report also said 14 regional parties namely (TRS, TDP, YSR-C, BJD, DMK, SHS, AAP, JDU, SP, JDS, SAD, AIADMK, RJD & JMM) declared receiving donations via Electoral Bonds worth Rs 447.498 cr. Similarly, the top five parties which declared the highest donations in FY 2019-20 are SHS, AIADMK, AAP, BJD, and YSR-C. Out of these parties, SHS, BJD, and YSR-C declared a decrease in their donations while AIADMK and AAP declared an increase in the donations in comparison with FY 2018-19.
Comparison of donations received by Regional Parties between FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20
JMM, LJP, SP and AAP saw the maximum percentage increase in their income from donations between FY 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Donations to JMM increased by 37794%, followed by LJP for which it was 410%, SP for which it was 317%, and AAP that saw an increase of 156%.
Two parties (AIADMK, JVM-P) had not received any donations during FY 2018-19 but during FY 2019-20 AIADMK declared Rs 52.17 cr and JVM-P has declared Rs 23.08 lakhs.
YSR-C, TRS, TDP, SHS, and JDU declared the highest decrease in the number of donations received between FY 2018-19 and 2019-20, of Rs 71.651 cr, Rs 40.876 cr, Rs 23.573 cr, Rs 7.371 cr, and Rs 7.098 cr respectively.
The top five parties which declared the highest donations in FY 2019-20 are SHS, AIADMK, AAP, BJD, and YSR-C. Out of these parties, SHS, BJD, and YSR-C declared a decrease in their donations while AIADMK and AAP declared an increase in the donations in comparison with FY 2018-19.