BJP has Emerged the Richest Political Party in India

People living in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have contributed Rs 5.46 crore (officially) to the Bharatiya Janata Party, according to data on contributions to party funds. Kakinada Seaport Ltd, located in Gayatri Nagar, Vijayawada, is the highest contributor from the two Telugu states with Rs 5 crore. From Telangana, Navayuga Engineering Company, Hyderabad, is the highest contributor with a donation of Rs 30 lakh.

The funds from the two states will be higher if amounts under Rs 20,000 are taken into consideration.  These names from TS and AP, have surfaced in the donation list (all above Rs 20,000) submitted by the BJP to the Election Commission for the year 2016- 17.The BJP has emerged the richest political party in India with `1,034 crore income. Over `997.13 crore was received from grants/donations/contributions which formed 96.41 per cent of the total income of the party during 2016-17.

The Indian National Congress (INC) followed with Rs 225.36 crore income.Out of 1,194 donors pan India, a handful were from the South Indian states (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh). From Telangana,  Navayuga Engineering company donated `30 lakh.Going by the Donation List, Telugus in AP gave more (Rs 5.11 crore) to the BJP than those in Telangana (`35 lakh).

The biggest contributor to the BJP coffers was a New Delhi based trust called Satya Electoral Trust located in  Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, which gave Rs 200 crore in various cash break-ups in a span of one year. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analysed and audited the accounts of the BJP and six other national parties, for 2016-17. Seven national parties declared a combined income of Rs 1,559.17 crore in 2016-17, with the BJP having the highest share of Rs 1,034.27 crore, says the report.

The data has been compiled from income tax returns filed by political parties across the country. The seven national parties declared a total expenditure of Rs 1,228.26 crore, the report added.