Congress is second richest with ₹225.36 crore income in 2016-17; CPI declares the lowest income of ₹2.08 crore.

Seven national parties declared a total income of ₹1,559.17 crore in 2016-17, with BJP having the highest — ₹1,034.27 crore, says a report.

“This forms 66.34% 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 on April 10.

The Indian National Congress followed with ₹225.36 crore — 14.45% of the total income, it said, adding that the CPI has declared the lowest income of ₹2.08 crore which forms a mere 0.13%. 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 ₹1,228.26 crore, the report added.

The BJP declared the maximum expenditure of ₹710.05 crore in 2016-17, while the Congress incurred a total expenses of ₹321.66 crore (₹96.30 crore more than its total income).

The report further said that 70% of the total income of the BSP, 31% of the total income of the BJP and the CPI and 6% of the total income of the CPI(M) was declared unspent during 2016-17.

The BSP’s total income was ₹173.58 crore during 2016-17, while its total expenditure was ₹51.83 crore. Between 2015-16 and 2016-17, the income of the BJP increased by 81.18% from ₹570.86 crore to ₹1,034.27 crore, while that of the Congress decreased by 14% from ₹261.56 crore to ₹225.36 crore.

Income of the BSP increased by 266.32% from ₹47.38 crore during 2015-16 to ₹173.58 crore in 2016-17, while that of the NCP increased by 88.63% from ₹9.137 crore during 2015-16 to ₹17.235 crore in 2016-17.

The report further noted that between 2015-16 and 2016-17, the income of the All India Trinamool Congress decreased by 81.52% and that of the CPI(M) fell by 6.72%.

The BJP and the Congress have declared donations/contributions as one of their three main sources of income. “Grants/donations/contributions of ₹997.12 crore declared by BJP formed 96.41% of the total income of the party during 2016-17. Declaration of ₹115.64 crore under revenue from issuance of coupons by INC forms the top most income of the party, contributing 51.32% of the total income of the party during 2016-17,” ADR said.

The maximum expenditure for the BJP during 2016-17 was towards election/general propaganda, which amounted to ₹606.64 crore followed by expenses towards administrative cost at ₹69.78 crore. The Congress spent the maximum ₹149.65 crore on election expenditure followed by expenditure of ₹115.65 crore on administrative and general expenses, the report said.

Seven national parties have collected maximum 74.98% (₹1,169.07 crore) income from voluntary contributions for 2016-17. During 2016-17, national parties received ₹128.60 crore income from interest from banks and FD. The report added that 7.98% or ₹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 February 7, 2018 without the details of the BJP and the Congress 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 October 30, 2017. The BJP submitted its audited report on February 8, 2018 (delayed by 99 days) and the Congress on March 19, 2018 (delayed by 138 days). In its observation, ADR said that four out of seven national parties (the BJP, the Congress , the NCP and the CPI) have consistently delayed submitting their audit reports for the past five years.