Recent data on political funding in India has revealed an interesting pattern: the funding pattern of BJP – which is in power at the center – is much more similar to the funding patterns of other in-power regional parties such as DMK, Trinamool Congress, YSRCP and BRS than with national parties such as Indian National Congress and AAP.
The analysis suggests that parties in power are not only able to attract more donors, but their fund inflows are heavily skewed towards big ticket donations, while those in opposition -- irrespective of size -- get their funds from smaller contributions.
The following chart shows how donations of Rs 100 crore and above have gone almost exclusively to the BJP and small parties that are in charge of large, industrialized states.
Here is another chart showing where each party got their funds from. It too shows how only parties that are in power are getting money from bigger donor and donations.
A detailed analysis of each party's funding profile also backs up the conclusion, and explains why even a big party like Congress is behind a small party like Trinamool Congress when it comes to electoral bond donations.
BJP
The BJP, which is currently in power at the center, has emerged as the top recipient of political funding, raising a staggering Rs 5,674.20 crore, which accounts for 45.89% of the total Rs 12,365.88 crore raised by all parties. Including bonds for which donor data is not available, the party's kitty is north Rs 6,000 cr.
Like other parties in power -- BJP's funding pattern too shows that a larger proportion of its funds came from big donors than for rival parties.
The numbers reveal that 42.4% of its total funds come from donors who have contributed the Rs 100 crore or more (blue color) and another 45.0% from those who have contributed between Rs 10 crore to Rs 100 crore (red), adding up to 87.4% of the party's total funds via electoral bonds.
This indicates that the BJP relies on contributions from bigger corporate entities, like other parties in power.
Congress Party
The opposition Congress Party's fund-raising trend is substantially different from that of the BJP.
The top category of donors -- who contributed Rs 100 crore or more -- accounted for only 33.2% of its total funds, with another 37.9% coming from the second biggest donor category (red - Rs 10 crore to 100 crore). Together, these two types of donors accounted for only around 71% of the total funds raised by the party, against 87.4% for the BJP.
For the Congress, a substantial chunk (26.43%) of the contributions came from the third category (green - Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore).
The difference is also starkly visible when it comes to the overall funds raised.
INC raised just Rs 1,461.09 crore, or about one-fourth of what the BJP raised, and accounted for only 11.8% of the total funds.
AAP
The only other 'national' party, Aam Aadmi Party, was in the opposition during most of the period during which the electoral bonds scheme was in effect, and its pattern too resembles those of out-of-power parties like Shiromani Akali Dal and Samajwadi Party.
Although the party was in power in Delhi, the state is relatively small and not home to big industries, which may have reduced the incentive for big corporate groups to make large donations to the party.
Its total amount raised was a measly Rs 65.25 crore, accounting for just 0.53% of the total funds. As should be obvious, there was not even a single donor that gave the party more than Rs 100 crore.
AAP raised nearly 72.6% of its total funds coming from the third category (green - donors contributing between Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 crore), and another 11.9% from those making donations of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore (purple).
In terms of its bias towards smaller donations, the AAP was even more striking that the Congress.
DMK
Meanwhile, parties such as the DMK -- despite being restricted to just one state -- had funding profiles similar to that of the BJP.
The party raised nearly 10 times more than AAP, at Rs 632.00 crore, and accounted for 5.11% of the total funds.
It relied heavily on large donations, with 79.6% of its total funds coming from the highest category (blue - Rs 100 crore and above) donors. However, this was on account of a Rs 503 crore donation by lottery king Santiago Martin -- who calls the state his home.
This also suggests that having power, particularly in an industrial state like Tamil Nadu, can work wonders for your electoral funding prospects.
TMC
The TMC, which governs West Bengal, has raised Rs 1,592.52 crore, constituting 12.88% of the total funds and putting it well ahead of INC at No.2.
The party exhibits a significant reliance on large donations, with 51.7% of its total funds coming from top donors (Rs 100 crore plus) and another 31.8% from the Rs-10-crore-plus category. The party has been in power in the state of West Bengal throughout the period. Unlike DMK, TMC has two 100-crore-plus donors, Santiago Martin (Rs 542 crore) and Haldia Energy Ltd (Rs 281 crore).
BRS
The BRS, formerly known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, was in power in Telangana during the period, and raised Rs 1,191.16 crore, accounting for 9.63% of the total funds.
Like in case of TMC and DMK, the party's funding pattern reveals a heavy bias toward big donors. 16.37% of the total funds came from the topmost category (Rs 100-crore-plus), followed by another 57.4% from the 10-100 crore category. The only Rs 100-crore-plus donation for this party came from Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd, a local firm that has been winning mega infrastructure contracts across the country.
Among other significant donors is the mysterious and untraceable firm called Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital, which contributed Rs 94 crore to the party.
Prominent donors to the party also include Chennai Green Woods Pvt Ltd (a real estate firm) and Dr Reddy's Labs, which contributed Rs 32 crore. The list also includes Kerala-based Kitex group, which announced plans to set up a new manufacturing facility in the state. The group gave Rs 25 crore to the party.
BJD
Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been in power in Odisha for nearly a quarter of a century, was also one of the big hitters in terms of electoral bonds. The party raised Rs 775.50 crore, accounting for 6.27% of the total funds.
It is the only regional party, other than Trinamool Congress, to have more than one entry in the 100-crore-donation club -- with two well-wishers, Essel Mining and Industries Ltd and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd -- contributing Rs 175 crore and Rs 100 crore respectively.
Thanks to this, 35.4% of its total funds came from the 100-crore-plus category, and 53.06% from the Rs-10-to-100-crore category, adding up to 88.5%. The rest came from the Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore category.
YSRCP
The YSRCP, which is in power in Andhra Pradesh, raised Rs 328.75 crore, accounting for 2.66% of the total funds. Nearly half of the donations -- Rs 154 crore -- came from a single donor -- Santiago Martin's Future Gaming and Hotel Services.
Almost 80% of the party's donations came from generous donors who chipped in at least Rs 10 crore each for the party.
The Other Side
In contrast to the fortunes of 'powerful' parties such as YSRCP and BJD, the opposition parties saw very poor inflows in terms of electoral bonds. Even parties that were in power in non-industrialized states did poorly, suggesting a connection between the presence of industries and strong electoral bond inflows.
The less-fortunate parties included UP-based Samajwadi Party and BSP, Karnataka-based JD(S), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and Punjab-based Shiromani Akali Dal.
SP
The Samajwadi Party raised a measly Rs 13.21 crore, or 0.1% of the total funds. This suggests that the party, which is currently in opposition in Uttar Pradesh, faces significant challenges in attracting large donations and may rely more on smaller contributions from its supporters.
Shiv Sena
The Shiv Sena, which was partly in power during the period in which electoral bonds were issued, raised Rs 152.45 crore, constituting 1.23% of the total funds. It was helped by two big donations -- Rs 85 crore from BG Shirke Construction Technology Ltd, and Rs 25 crore from Qwik Supplychain Pvt Ltd, which has reportedly been linked to the Mukesh Ambani group.
As such, Shiv Sena got 72% of its total funds from the Rs 10-100 crore category, and nearly all of the remaining from the Rs 1-10 crore category.
Others
Karnataka-based opposition party Janata Dal (Secular) raised Rs 41.00 crore (0.33% of the total funds), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference raised Rs 0.50 crore (0.004% of the total funds) and Shiromani Akali Dal raised Rs 7.26 crore (0.06% of the total funds).
Power = Money?
The disparity in funding between parties in power and those out of power suggests that as far as electoral bonds are concerned, power equals money.
This also raises questions about the nature of the donations that flow to these parties: Specifically, they raise the question of whether most of these donations are indeed donations, or whether they are quid pro quo payments.
Parties in power have access to government machinery and resources, which can be used to attract donors and mobilize funds. This includes the ability to grant contracts and licenses to businesses and individuals and changes in rules and regulations.
Donors may also be drawn to parties in power as they may perceive them to have a greater ability to influence policies and decision-making processes.
Also read our other Electoral Bonds-related stories below:
