As India moved towards Lok Sabha elections in April 2024, donations to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soared by 87.12%, with the party receiving Rs 3,967.14 crore in donations for the financial year 2023-24. The annual audit report of the parties was hosted on the Election Commission of India website on January 27.
The BJP had received Rs 2,120.06 crore of contributions in FY 2022-23, according to its balance sheet as on March 31, 2024.
In contrast, the Congress party received only Rs 1,129.66 crore, but it was a 320% increase over its previous year when it received Rs 268.62 crore in voluntary contributions.
Out of the total amount that BJP received for FY 2023-24, Rs 1,685.62 crore came via Electoral Bonds (EBs), which is 42.48% of its total contributions. The EBs were a financial instrument scheme that the Supreme Court put a halt to in March 2024. The Union government under the BJP had said that the bonds allowed individuals and companies to donate to political parties without revealing their identities. However, the SC did not buy the argument stating that anonymity was not ‘fool-proof’ and that it was the public that was unaware of the identity of the donors and not the political parties.
For the same period, the Congress party received Rs 828.36 crore through EBs, which is 73.32% of its total contributions. In addition, the party received Rs 6.40 crore through electoral trusts and foundations and Rs 170.11 crore through donations.
The BJP also spent Rs 1,754.06 crore in FY 2023-24 on elections and general propaganda, a massive increase over its previous year's expenses of Rs 1,092.15. In this, the party spent a whopping Rs 591.39 crore on advertisements alone. In all, its spending on advertisements, audio and video creatives, electronic media, hoardings, banners, and printed material amounted to Rs 603.93 crore. It offered financial assistance to candidates to the tune of Rs 191.06 crore.
The Congress spent a total of Rs 619.67 crore on election publicity, with advertisements, banners, creatives, and printed material taking up Rs 293.14 crore. Congress also offered financial aid to its candidates to the tune of Rs 238.54 crore.