BJP Richest Party With Income of Over Rs 1,034 Crore in 2016-17
7 parties declared a total income of Rs 1,559.17 crore in 2016-17, with BJP having the highest, Rs 1,034.27 crore
advertisement
Seven national parties declared a total income of Rs 1,559.17 crore in 2016-17, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having the highest – Rs 1,034.27 crore, says a report.
"This forms 66.34 percent of the total income of national parties added together during 2016-17," Delhi-based think tank Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report released today.
Indian National Congress (INC) followed with Rs 225.36 crore – 14.45 percent of the total income, it said, adding that (CPI) Communist Party of India has declared the lowest income of Rs 2.08 crore which forms a mere 0.13 percent.
The data has been compiled from Income Tax returns filed by the parties across the country. The seven national parties declared a total expenditure of Rs 1,228.26 crore, the report added.
The report further said that 70 percent of the total income of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 31 percent of the total income of BJP and CPI and six percent of the total income of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) during 2016-17 was declared unspent.
BSP's total income was Rs 173.58 crore during 2016-17, while its total expenditure was Rs 51.83 crore. Between 2015-16 and 2016-17, the income of BJP increased by 81.18 percent from Rs 570.86 crore to Rs 1,034.27 crore, while that of INC decreased by 14 percent from Rs 261.56 crore to Rs 225.36 crore.
Income of BSP increased by 266.32 percent from Rs 47.38 crore during 2015-16 to Rs 173.58 crore in 2016-17, while that of NCP increased by 88.63 percent from Rs 9.137 crore during 2015-16 to Rs 17.235 crore in 2016-17.
The report further noted that between 2015-16 and 2016-17, the income of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) decreased by 81.52 percent and that of CPM fell by 6.72 percent.
BJP and Congress have declared donations and contributions their main sources of income.
"Grants/donations/contributions of Rs 997.12 crore declared by BJP formed 96.41 percent of the total income of the party during 2016-17. Declaration of Rs 115.64 crore under revenue from issuance of coupons by INC forms the top most income of the party, contributing 51.32 percent of the total income of the party during 2016-17," ADR said.
INC spent the maximum Rs 149.65 crore on election expenditure followed by expenditure of Rs 115.65 crore on administrative and general expenses, the report said.
Seven national parties have collected maximum 74.98 percent (Rs 1,169.07 crore) income from voluntary contributions for 2016-17.
During 2016-17, national parties received Rs 128.60 crore income from interest from banks and fixed deposits (FD). The report added that 7.98 percent or Rs 124.46 crore was the income generated through revenue from issuance of coupons by national parties during 2016-17.
ADR had earlier released the “Analysis of Income & Expenditure of National Political Parties for FY2016-2017” on 7 February 2018, without the details of BJP and INC as the audit reports of these parties were not available in the public domain.
The due date for submission of annual audited accounts for the parties was 30 October 2017. BJP submitted its audited report on 8 February 2018 (delayed by 99 days) and Congress on 19 March 2018 (delayed by 138 days).
In its observation, ADR said that four out of seven national parties (BJP, INC, NCP and CPI) have consistently delayed submitting their audit reports for the past five years.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)