KOLKATA: The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), the former ruling party in West Bengal, received the second-highest amount in political donations among regional parties during the 2024-25 financial year, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The party received Rs 184.96 crore, behind the DMK, which topped the list with Rs 365.784 crore.
More than 99 per cent of the donations received by the Trinamool Congress came through cheques and demand drafts, with incomplete details of the donors. In contrast, 82.2 per cent of the DMK's donations were received in cash, followed by bank transfers amounting to Rs 50.16 crore.
The other three regional parties in the top five in terms of donations received were the YSR Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and AIADMK, ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Most of their donations came from corporate houses.
The findings are based on the Election Commission of India (ECI) data on donations received by regional political parties during the 2024-25 financial year, analysed by the ADR.
The ADR report analyses donations above Rs 20,000 declared by regional political parties to the ECI for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
It also highlights significant variations in funding patterns across 40 regional political parties during the two financial years.
According to the report, collective funding from the top 10 donors increased significantly in 2024-25, amounting to Rs 594 crore through 43 donations, compared with Rs 238.50 crore through 31 donations in 2023-24. This represents an increase of 149 per cent in the value of donations and 45 per cent in the number of donations.
The report states that the DMK recorded the highest increase in absolute terms, with donations rising by Rs 344.222 crore, from Rs 21.562 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 365.784 crore in 2024-25.
The Trinamool Congress recorded the second-highest increase in absolute value, with donations rising by Rs 178.536 crore, from Rs 6.424 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 184.96 crore in 2024-25.
The report states that the increase in political funding during 2024-25 was concentrated among a few regional political parties. The top five recipients — DMK, AITC, YSR Congress, TDP and AIADMK — together received Rs 840.1264 crore in donations during 2024-25, accounting for 79.9 per cent of the total donations received in the period.
The report also states that corporate funding continued to dominate political financing. Corporate and business houses donated Rs 872.538 crore, accounting for 62.36 per cent of the total donations received by regional political parties, while individual donors contributed Rs 193.946 crore, or 13.86 per cent.
According to the ECI data cited in the report, regional political parties declared a total of 8,158 donations above Rs 20,000, amounting to Rs 1,399.249 crore, during the combined period of 2023-24 and 2024-25.