BJP’s Donations Surge to Over ₹6,000 Crore After Electoral Bonds Scrapped—85% of Total Political Donations in 2024-25

Key Points

The BJP recorded a sharp rise in political donations in 2024–25 – the first year since India scrapped the electoral bonds scheme. According to contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the BJP received between ₹6,088 crore and ₹6,654.93 crore during the year, depending on classification and reporting cut offs. This represents a jump of more than 50% over the ₹3,967 crore the party received in 2023–24.

The disclosures cover donations above ₹20,000 and span a period marked by the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well as Assembly polls in several states. The BJP’s receipts were several times higher than those of opposition parties combined, accounting for 85% of all donations.

Opposition parties, meanwhile, received a total of ₹1,343 crore in donations – 4.5 times less than the BJP’s donations alone.

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Electoral Trust Donations in 2024-25

Electoral trusts emerged as the single largest source of funding for the BJP in 2024–25. Between 60% and 82% of trust donations went to the ruling party, depending on the reporting set examined. In absolute terms, trusts contributed over ₹3,100 crore to the BJP during the year. Congress, meanwhile, received less than 8%.

Prudent Electoral Trust was the biggest contributor, donating around ₹2,180 crore to the BJP. Major contributors to the trust include Jindal Steel and Power, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, Bharti Airtel, Aurobindo Pharma and Torrent Pharmaceuticals. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) made the single largest contribution to the trust, amounting to ₹500 crore. It is worth noting that L&T, on 17 December 2025, announced that it had recently won two government orders for construction projects worth ₹2,500-5,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh and Assam, both BJP ruled states.

Progressive Electoral Trust, controlled by the Tata Group, followed with contributions exceeding ₹750 crore. Meanwhile, the New Democratic Electoral Trust, managed by the Mahindra Group, donated about ₹150 crore. Other trusts, including Triumph and Harmony, also routed substantial sums to the party.

Contribution reports show that funds flowing into these trusts came from a wide range of corporate donors across infrastructure, telecom, pharmaceuticals, metals, real estate and manufacturing. The trust route allows companies and individuals to pool donations, which are then distributed to political parties and disclosed to the Election Commission, unlike the anonymity that characterised electoral bonds.

Across all political parties, electoral trust donations rose sharply after the scrapping of bonds. Nine trusts reported contributions of ₹3,811 crore in 2024–25, more than triple the amount donated in the previous year.

Other Political Donations in 2024-25

Apart from trusts, the BJP received substantial direct contributions from companies and individuals. Among corporate donors, the Serum Institute of India contributed ₹100 crore, followed by Rungta Sons with ₹95 crore and Vedanta with ₹65–67 crore. Other major donors included Macrotech Developers, Derive Investments, ITC Limited, Hero group companies, Bajaj group firms, Mankind Pharma and Hindustan Zinc.

Several business groups donated through multiple subsidiaries or associate firms. Individual donations from party leaders and office bearers were comparatively small in value but featured in the disclosures, reflecting contributions from Chief Ministers, Union Ministers and local leaders. Prominent names include Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who donated ₹3 lakh, Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika, who gave ₹2.75 lakh, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who contributed ₹1 lakh, and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who furnished ₹5 lakh.

In contrast, opposition parties saw fewer large corporate contributions. While some companies donated to both the BJP and other parties, the scale of funding remained heavily tilted towards the ruling party.

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Scrapping of Electoral Bonds

The 2024–25 financial year was the first full year after the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme as unconstitutional in February 2024. Since its introduction in 2018, electoral bonds had channelled over ₹16,000 crore in anonymous donations to political parties, with the BJP receiving the largest share.

Following the verdict, political funding shifted decisively towards electoral trusts and disclosed bank transfers. Despite expectations that the end of anonymous bonds might reduce large scale donations, BJP’s receipts increased sharply, indicating that donors adapted quickly to alternative channels.

While overall donations to major political parties remained broadly stable at around ₹7,000 crore, the BJP’s share rose dramatically. Congress reported ₹522.13 crore in donations, a decline of around 43% from the previous year. Trinamool Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Telugu Desam Party and Biju Janata Dal also saw significant drops, while the Aam Aadmi Party reported a modest increase.

Disclosures for some parties are still awaited and figures may see minor revisions once audit reports are filed, but the trend underscores a growing concentration of political funding with the ruling party in the post-bond era.

(DS)

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