Shiv Sena received 80% of all donations above Rs 20,000 to regional parties in 2015-’16: Report
Of the Rs 107.62 crore declared, nearly 85% of the money came from corporates and business houses, according to a Association for Democratic Reforms study.
Regional political parties received Rs 107.62 crore in donations above Rs 20,000 in 2015-’16, a majority of which was declared by the Shiv Sena. While the far-right outfit declared having received Rs 86.84 crore in donations, the Aam Aadmi Party declared receiving Rs 6.605 crore, according to data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch.
Nearly 85% of all donations above Rs 20,00 were made by corporates and business houses. As much as 98% of Shiv Sena’s funding came from Videocon Industries promoter Rajkumar Dhoot, who is a Sena MP, whereas the AAP’s corporate donors were Shree Ram Transport and Forum Shopping Mall.
As many as 21 regional parties were considered for this report, which was put together on the basis of submissions made to the Election Commission. The overall donations made in the last financial year dropped 20.20% (Rs 27.24 crore) from that in 2014-’15, when the parties had declared having received Rs 134.86 crore.
Moreover, a number of regional parties said they had not received any donations over Rs 20,000 in the 2015-’16 financial year. These include the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Naga People’s Front and Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Only five of the 21 parties reported an increase in donations above Rs 20,000. These include the Shiv Sena, Assam’s All India United Democratic Front, Karnataka’s Janata Dal (Secular), and Tamil Nadu’s Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).
