NEW DELHI: As the latest report published by the Election Commission of India showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party received maximum contributions in fiscal year 2021-22, former bureaucrats and activists say it is high time that political parties declare their source of funding to ensure transparency in political funding.
According to reports submitted by various political parties to the ECI, BJP came at the top with Rs 615.53 crore, followed by the Congress which got Rs 95.46 crore as contributions. The Trinamool Congress received Rs 43 lakh while the figure for CPM was Rs 10.05 crore.
The report published on the EC website on Tuesday showed that the BJP received more than 50% of its contributions from an electoral trust, The Prudent Electoral Trust. As per a recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, the BJP got Rs 163.54 crore, or 94% of total corporate donations in Gujarat during the financial years 2016-2021.
Political parties should announce their source of funding whether through contributions or electoral bonds, says former Election Commissioner SY Quraishi. He adds that though the EC has imposed a ceiling on expenditure by candidates in state and Lok Sabha polls, political parties enjoy immunity.
“There is no level playing field as political parties can spend limitless money even though there’s a ceiling on expenditure by the candidate. The government should bring in legislation to put a cap on expenditure by parties and it should be kept the same for candidates,” he said. While the expenditure limit for a candidate in the Lok Sabha election is up to Rs 95 lakh, it’s fixed at Rs 40 lakh for Assembly elections.
In September, the EC proposed to the law ministry to reduce political contributions from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000 and limit cash donations at 20% or at a maximum of Rs 20 crore. However, Jagdeep Chhokar, co-founder of ADR, says that to ensure transparency, all political parties should be brought under the purview of the RTI Act and all transactions should be made through digital mode.
“There are so many loopholes that they hide behind. We have been fighting for this in the SC but the petition hasn’t been heard yet,” he said. ADR has filed a PIL demanding that the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018, should be scrapped. Quraishi also feels that political parties should be funded by the state so that private funding can be stopped.