Electoral trusts route Rs 3,826 crore to parties in FY25; BJP gets 82% share: ADR analysis

By A Representative 

The New Delhi-based think tank Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has released its analysis of contribution reports submitted by electoral trusts for the financial year 2024–25, revealing that a total of Rs 3,826.3417 crore was received from corporates and individuals and Rs 3,826.3522 crore was disbursed to political parties during the year. The report is based on annual contribution statements filed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) by trusts registered with the Central Board of Direct Taxes under the Electoral Trusts Scheme, 2013.

Out of 20 registered electoral trusts, 15 submitted their annual reports to the ECI for FY 2024–25, but only 10 declared receiving any donations. Five trusts reported nil contributions, while the reports of five others were not available on the ECI website even three months after the October 31, 2025 deadline. According to ADR, this raises concerns over compliance and transparency, particularly as some trusts have either never reported receiving contributions since registration or have done so only once.

The data shows that corporate India continues to dominate political funding routed through electoral trusts. A total of 228 corporate or business houses contributed Rs 3,636.819 crore, accounting for the overwhelming share of donations. In comparison, 99 individuals donated Rs 187.6227 crore, with 96 of them contributing Rs 187.5427 crore to Prudent Electoral Trust alone. An additional Rs 1.90 crore was reported under “others.”

Prudent Electoral Trust emerged as the largest recipient, collecting Rs 2,668.4917 crore and disbursing Rs 2,668.4647 crore to 15 political parties. Progressive Electoral Trust followed with Rs 915 crore in receipts and Rs 914.97 crore in disbursements, while New Democratic Electoral Trust reported Rs 160 crore in both receipts and payouts. Harmony Electoral Trust received Rs 35.55 crore but disbursed Rs 35.65 crore—Rs 10 lakh more than its total contributions—an anomaly flagged in the report. Smaller trusts such as Triumph, Bhartiya Bhumi, Samaj, Janpragati, Jankalyan and Einzigartig Electoral Trust accounted for the remaining inflows and outflows.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the lion’s share of electoral trust funding, garnering Rs 3,157.6549 crore, or 82.52% of the total amount distributed. Of this, Rs 2,180.7119 crore came from Prudent Electoral Trust and Rs 757.6205 crore from Progressive Electoral Trust, with additional sums from other trusts. The Indian National Congress (INC) received Rs 298.7795 crore, representing 7.81% of total trust disbursements. The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) received Rs 102 crore, while 19 other parties collectively shared Rs 267.9178 crore. In total, 21 political parties benefited from electoral trust funding during the year.

Among donors, Elevated Avenue Realty LLP topped the list with a contribution of Rs 500 crore, followed by Tata Sons Private Limited at Rs 308.1324 crore and Tata Consultancy Services Limited at Rs 217.6216 crore. Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited contributed Rs 175 crore across multiple tranches. The top 10 donors together contributed Rs 1,908.8621 crore, accounting for nearly half—49.89%—of all donations received by electoral trusts in FY 2024–25.

Sector-wise, manufacturing led with Rs 1,063.128 crore (27.78% of total donations), followed by real estate at Rs 629.17 crore (16.44%) and communication/IT/telecom at Rs 451.8582 crore (11.81%). Finance contributed Rs 389.8581 crore (10.19%), while mining, construction, infrastructure and engineering together accounted for Rs 358.6872 crore (9.37%). Power and oil contributed Rs 255.9675 crore (6.69%). Healthcare, shipping and logistics, hospitality and other sectors made up the remaining share, with individual donors accounting for 4.90% of total contributions.

State-wise analysis indicates that Maharashtra was the largest source of contributions at Rs 1,225.4293 crore, largely routed through Progressive and New Democratic Electoral Trusts. Significant sums also originated from Telangana (Rs 358.25 crore), Haryana (Rs 212.90 crore), Gujarat (Rs 200.50 crore), West Bengal (Rs 203.8538 crore), Delhi (Rs 188.72 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Rs 153 crore). Notably, donations amounting to Rs 1,065.2048 crore were reported without disclosed donor addresses, of which Rs 1,004.1548 crore was received by Prudent Electoral Trust.

The report also highlights the concentration of donations in specific months. April 2024 recorded the highest inflow at Rs 1,217.0821 crore, followed by October 2024 with Rs 1,021.525 crore and May 2024 with Rs 934.3919 crore. Progressive Electoral Trust’s activity was largely concentrated in October 2024, when it received the bulk of its annual contributions.

ADR has reiterated its recommendations for greater transparency and accountability in political financing. It has called for stricter enforcement of compliance norms, withdrawal of approval for trusts that remain inactive, inclusion of parent company names in trust titles to enhance transparency, and mandatory public disclosure by corporates of their political contributions and beneficiary parties. The findings underscore the continued dominance of corporate funding in India’s political finance ecosystem and the heavy concentration of electoral trust disbursements toward a single political party in FY 2024–25.