The ADR said audit reports of 20 regional parties were not available on the Election Commission of India’s website even 313 days after the last date for submission.
| Photo Credit: Photo Credit: X/@adrspeaks
“Around 40 regional political parties declared a combined income of ₹2,532.09 crore in the financial year 2023-24, with more than 70% of their funds coming through electoral bonds,” according to an analysis by poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) reported the highest income at ₹685.51 crore, followed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with ₹646.39 crore, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with ₹297.81 crore, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with ₹285.07 crore and YSR Congress with ₹191.04 crore.
These top five parties accounted for 83.17% of the total income declared by the 40 regional parties.
40% of Chief Ministers face criminal cases: ADR
“The total income of the 40 regional parties for FY 2023-24 was ₹2,532.096 crore. More than 70% of the total income (₹1,796.024 crore) of the 40 regional political parties analysed for FY 2023-24 came from donations through electoral bonds,” the report said.
The ADR said audit reports of 20 regional parties were not available on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) website even 313 days after the last date for submission.
The audit reports of 20 parties out of the 40 analysed by ADR were available on the ECI website after a delay of 12 to 216 days from the due date for submission.
ADR noted that the overall income of regional parties rose sharply by 45.77%, compared to FY 2022-23 when their total income stood at ₹1,736.85 crore. The TMC registered the largest increase of ₹312.93 crore, while the TDP and the BJD also saw significant jumps.
The report said 27 regional parties declared that a part of their income was unspent while the expenses of 12 political parties exceeded the income collected during the year. The BRS had ₹430.60 crore from its income unspent, the TMC ₹414.92 crore, and the BJD ₹253.79 crore.
In contrast, 12 parties, including the YSR Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Samajwadi Party, and the Janata Dal (United), spent more than their income, with the YSR Congress overshooting expenses by nearly 55%. The Goa Forward Party reported no income but declared expenses of ₹1.56 lakh.
Of the total income, ₹2,117.85 crore (83.64%) came from voluntary contributions. Within this, donations through electoral bonds accounted for ₹1,796.02 crore (70.93%), declared by just 10 parties, including the BRS, the TMC, the BJD, the TDP, the YSR Congress and the DMK.
In comparison, ₹321.82 crore was raised through other donations and contributions, while interest income accounted for ₹274.90 crore (10.86%).
As per the data shared by the State Bank of India in response to ADR’s RTI application, electoral bonds worth ₹4,507.56 crore were redeemed by parties in FY 2023-24. About 55.998% (₹2,524.14 crore) of this has been redeemed by national parties and 39.84% (₹1,796.02 crore) by regional parties.
“In FY 2023-24, only three national parties (the BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party) have received donations through electoral bonds,” the report said.
Published – September 10, 2025 04:45 pm IST
