NEW DELHI: BJP’s annual income rose 83% from Rs 2,360.8 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 4,340.5 crore in 2023-24, of which Rs 1,685.6 crore came through electoral bonds, as per the party’s latest annual audit report filed with EC. This is the highest ever annual income or receipts from bonds declared by any party.
Congress’s income surged 170% to Rs 1,225 crore from Rs 452.4 crore over the same period. The main opposition party also recorded a steep 384% increase in its receipts via the bonds route, which rose to Rs 828.4 crore in FY24 from Rs 171 crore in FY23. Congress has the second highest income as well as receipts from bonds.
BJP’s expenditure up 62% in FY24, Congress’ by 120%
On both counts, Congress surpassed BRS, which declared a total income of Rs 685.5 crore, and TMC that received Rs 612.4 crore in bonds in 2023-24. On the expenditure side, BJP’s total spend in the last financial year stood at Rs 2,211.7 crore, 62% more than Rs 1,361.7 crore it had declared in 2022-23. Of this, Rs 1,754 crore was spent on election and general propaganda.
Congress ran up an annual expenditure of Rs 1,025.2 crore in 2023-24, up 120% from Rs 467.1 crore in 2022-23. Nearly Rs 49.6 crore was spent by the party on Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that took place between Jan 14 and March 16, 2024, as against Rs 71.8 crore spent on the first edition of his Bharat Jodo Yatra undertaken from Sept 7, 2022 to Jan 30, 2023. Of the total Rs 3,967 crore voluntary contributions declared by BJP in its 2023-24 audit report, those worth Rs 1,685.6 crore came from electoral bonds, Rs 236.3 crore from Aajiwan Sahayog Nidhi and Rs 2,042.7 crore from ‘other’ contributions. Individual donors contributed around Rs 240 crore to BJP, corporates Rs 1,890 crore, institutions and welfare bodies Rs 101.2 crore and others Rs 50 crore.
Congress’s total income for the last fiscal included Rs 113.4 crore received from individual donors; Rs 170 crore from corporate donors; Rs 6.4 crore from electoral trusts and foundations; Rs 828.4 crore from bonds; and Rs 11.4 crore ‘others’. It received an additional Rs 22 crore from fee and subscriptions, and collected Rs 58.5 crore from issuance of coupons and sale of publications.
BJP’s audit report for 2023-24 declares an election spend of Rs 1,195 crore on advertisement and publicity, Rs 196.8 crore on travelling and Rs 191 crore on financial assistance to candidates.
As on March 31, 2024, BJP had Rs 109.2 crore as cash in hand, Rs 1,627.2 crore as balance with banks and Rs 5,377.3 crore in fixed deposits, as against Rs 42 crore as cash in hand, Rs 311 crore as bank balance and Rs 5,071.4 crore in fixed deposits on March 31, 2023. Congress declared an expenditure of Rs 4.9 crore on pre-poll surveys in 2023-24, down from 40.1 crore spent the previous year.