Image Source : INDIA TV Political donations received by BJP and Congress Party (Amount in Rs)

Prime Minister Modi-led ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has received the bulk of the donations made during the Lok Sabha election campaign 2019 while Congress party has come a distant second. Out of total donations of Rs 469.89 crore Rs. 422.04 cr (89.82%) were made by corporate businesses.

BJP clearly seems to be the favourite when it comes to India Inc. BJP received Rs.400.23 crore from corporate donations while Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party received Rs 19.298 crore. In 2017-18, corporate funds

The donations, as per Election Commission of India’s directives were made in electoral bonds. After the Finance Act of 2017, political parties are not required to record the details of the donations above Rs 20,000.

News agency IANS reports that a total of Rs 1,056 crore was purchased by various political parties in 2018 while the same figure in 2019 stands at Rs 1,716 crore.

What are electoral bonds?

Electoral bonds do not carry the name of the donor

The donor does not have to disclose which political party he is donating money to

Electoral bonds purchased by individual/corporates are exempted from tax

The donations received by political parties through electoral bonds are also exempt from Income Tax

As of now, only SBI knows who is buying the bonds. That records, therefore, can be accessed by the Reserve Bank of India and in turn by Finance Ministry

(Inputs from IANS)

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