6 national parties declared income of Rs 3,698.66 crore: BJP leads the pack

New Delhi, Jan 15: Political parties have multiple sources of funding and thus accountability and transparency should be an important aspect of their functioning. It is essential to have comprehensive and transparent accounting methods and systems which should reveal the true financial position of the parties.

The National Parties include Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).

Status of submission of audited reports by the National Parties, FY 2018-19:

• The due date for submission of annual audited accounts for the parties was 31st Oct,'19.
• AITC, CPM and BSP submitted their audit reports on time while BJP submitted after 24 days, INC and CPI submitted after 42 days, while the audit report of NCP is still not available in public domain - 76 days since the due date for submission.

Total Income and Expenditure of National Political Parties for FY 2018-19

• BJP declared a total income of Rs 2,410.08 cr during FY 2018-19 but spent only 41.71 per cent (Rs 1,005.33 cr) of the total income while INC's total income was Rs 918.03 cr of which the party spent 51.19 per cent (Rs 469.92 cr).
• AITC's total income was Rs 192.65 cr of which the party spent only 5.97 per cent (Rs 11.50 cr).
• CPM declared a total income of Rs 100.96 cr during FY 2018-19, and spent Rs 76.15 cr (75.43 per cent) of it.

Total Income of National Parties for FY 2018-19:

• 6 National Parties (BJP, INC, CPM, BSP, AITC and CPI) have declared a total income of Rs 3,698.66 cr, collected from all over India.
• BJP has shown the highest income amongst the National Parties, an income of Rs 2410.08 cr during FY 2018-19. This forms 65.16 per cent of the total income of 6 National Parties during FY 2018-19.
• INC declared the second highest income of Rs 918.03 cr which forms 24.82 per cent of the total income of the 6 National Parties.

Comparison of total income of National Parties between FY 2017-18 and 2018-19

• Between FY 2017-18 and 2018-19, the income of BJP Increased by 134.59 per cent (Rs 1382.74 cr) from Rs 1027.34 cr during FY 2017-18 to Rs 2410.08 cr during FY 2018-19.
• Income of INC increased by 360.97 per cent (Rs 718.88 cr) from Rs 199.15 cr during FY 2017-18 to Rs 918.03 cr during FY 2018-19.
• Between FY 2017-18 and 2018-19, the highest increase in income was declared by AITC of 3628.47 per cent (Rs 187.48 cr) from Rs 5.167 cr during FY 2017-18 to Rs 192.65 cr during FY 2018-19 while the income of CPI increased by 361.29 per cent (Rs 5.60 cr) from Rs 1.55 cr during FY 2017-18 to Rs 7.15 cr during FY 2018-19.

Top 3 sources of income of National Parties for FY 2018-19:

• National Parties have declared donations/contributions as one of their 3 main sources of income. National Parties that received highest income from donations/contributions include BJP - Rs 2354.02 cr, INC - Rs 551.55 cr, AITC - Rs 141.54 cr, CPM - Rs 37.228 cr and CPI - Rs 4.08 cr.
• Voluntary Contributions of Rs 2354.02 cr declared by BJP forms 97.67 per cent of its total income during FY 2018-19. Declaration of Rs 551.55 cr under Grant/ donations/ contributions by INC forms the top most income of the party, contributing 60.08 per cent of its total income during FY 2018-19.

Top 3 items of expenditure of National Parties for FY 2018-19:

• The maximum expenditure for BJP has been towards Election/General Propaganda which amounted to Rs 792.39 cr followed by expenses towards Administrative Costs, Rs 178.35 cr.
• INC spent the maximum of Rs 308.96 cr on Election Expenditure followed by expenditure of Rs 125.80 cr on Administrative and General Expenses.
• CPM declared to have spent 46.01 per cent of its total expenditure during FY 2018 -19 on Administrative & General Expenses (Rs 35.04 cr) while BSP spent Rs 33.11 cr or 67.74 per cent of its total expenditure on Election Expenses.

All sources of income declared by National Parties: FY 2018-19

• 6 National parties collected 83.50 per cent (Rs 3088.43 cr) of their total income from Voluntary contributions for FY 2018-19.
• During FY 2018-19, out of the 6 National Parties, only BJP, INC and AITC have declared receiving an income from Contribution through Electoral Bonds, a total of Rs 1931.43 cr. BJP received donations through Electoral Bonds worth Rs 1450.89 cr, INC received Rs 383.26 cr and AITC received Rs 97.28 cr.
• Rs 1157 cr was income generated through other contributions by National parties during FY 2018-19.