New Delhi, Sep 10 – In the financial year 2023-24, approximately 40 regional political parties reported a collective income of Rs 2,532.09 crore, with over 70% of their funding sourced from electoral bonds, as per the analysis conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) emerged as the highest earner, declaring an income of Rs 685.51 crore. It was followed closely by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) at Rs 646.39 crore, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with Rs 297.81 crore, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) at Rs 285.07 crore, and the YSR Congress with Rs 191.04 crore. Collectively, these five parties accounted for 83.17% of the total income reported by the 40 regional parties.

According to the report, the total income for these regional parties in FY 2023-24 was Rs 2,532.096 crore, with Rs 1,796.024 crore (over 70%) derived from donations via electoral bonds. The ADR highlighted that audit reports for 20 regional parties were not accessible on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) website, even 313 days post the submission deadline. The reports for these 20 parties were available with delays ranging from 12 to 216 days.

The ADR noted a significant increase in the overall income of regional parties, rising by 45.77% compared to FY 2022-23, when the total income was Rs 1,736.85 crore. The TMC experienced the largest growth, increasing its income by Rs 312.93 crore, while both the TDP and BJD also reported substantial increases.

The report indicated that 27 regional parties acknowledged having unspent income, while 12 political parties exceeded their income with expenses. Notably, the BRS had Rs 430.60 crore unspent, the TMC had Rs 414.92 crore, and the BJD reported Rs 253.79 crore unspent.

Conversely, 12 parties, including YSR Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party, and Janata Dal (United), reported expenses surpassing their income, with YSR Congress exceeding its income by nearly 55%. The Goa Forward Party reported no income but declared expenses amounting to Rs 1.56 lakh.

Of the total income, Rs 2,117.85 crore (83.64%) was attributed to voluntary contributions. Within this, donations through electoral bonds constituted Rs 1,796.02 crore (70.93%), reported by just 10 parties, including BRS, TMC, BJD, TDP, YSR Congress, and DMK. In comparison, Rs 321.82 crore was raised through other donations and contributions, while interest income made up Rs 274.90 crore (10.86%).

Data from the State Bank of India, obtained through an RTI application by ADR, revealed that electoral bonds worth Rs 4,507.56 crore were redeemed by parties in FY 2023-24. National parties redeemed approximately 55.998% (Rs 2,524.14 crore) of this amount, while regional parties redeemed 39.84% (Rs 1,796.02 crore).

In FY 2023-24, only three national parties—BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party—received donations through electoral bonds, as stated in the report.