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Of the 18 electoral trusts registered with the Central Board of Direct Taxes, corporate donations worth about ₹50 crore via only two trusts — Satya and Samaj — went to three political parties in 2015-16, with over 90 per cent of funds going to the BJP alone, followed by the Congress and JD(U), as per submissions made to the Election Commission (EC).
According to an analysis by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), Satya Electoral Trust donated ₹45 crore of ₹47.12 crore to BJP, while Samaj Electoral Trust donated ₹1 crore of its total income of ₹2.52 crore to BJP in 2015-16. In fact, out of the 18 registered trusts, only Satya and Samaj declared having received donations in 2015-16.
Calling for greater transparency in corporate donations to political parties, ADR said electoral trusts that have not responded to, and complied with, EC guidelines should be heavily penalised. It also demanded that corporates declare details of their political contributions in public domain through their websites.
Details unknownAlso, details of donors to some of the trusts remain unknown, leading to speculation that the donations were only a means of getting tax exemption or a way to convert black money stashed in tax havens into white money in India.
Interestingly, corporate donations had shot up to ₹177.40 crore during 2014-15, when the Lok Sabha elections were held, with Satya Electoral Trust being the biggest donor with contributions from Bharti Infratel, Bharti Crescent, Bharti Airtel, DLF Assets, DLF Cybercity, JK Laksmi Cement, JK Tyre, Hero Motocorp, Jubilant Food, GMMCO Ltd, Orient Cement and India Bulls, among others.
Overall, in three years (between FY14 and FY16), six registered electoral trusts comprising top corporates donated ₹312.27 crore to key political parties, of which only two trusts (Satya and Samaj) donated more than once, said ADR.
Electoral trusts are required to donate 95 per cent of their total income to registered political parties in a financial year.
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