In 2023-24, whereas the electoral trusts donated the most important sums to political events, infrastructure and pharmaceutical corporations have been the subsequent largest donors, as per knowledge revealed by the Election Fee (EC) and not too long ago compiled by the Affiliation of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Amongst these corporations, at the least 5 are dealing with probes by numerous central companies, of which 4 have donated massive sums to the BJP whereas one, based mostly in Hyderabad, has given funds to the Congress.
An evaluation of the highest 20 donors for 9 main events – together with the BJP, Congress, AAP, TDP, JD(U), TMC, DMK, YSRCP and BRS – reveals that the events acquired the very best donations price Rs 1,196 crore from Prudent Electoral Belief, Triumph Electoral Belief, and Jayabharath Electoral Belief. Six of those 9 events acquired funds from them. The electoral trusts act as intermediaries between donors and events.
CHART: High donors in 2023-24.
Among the many high 20 donors for all these events, Prudent and Triumph gave probably the most funds in 2023-24 at Rs 1,061 crore and Rs 132.5 crore, respectively. The subsequent largest donor, at Rs 53.35 crore, was Derive Investments, a Mumbai-based enterprise fund. The opposite huge donors are largely corporations within the infrastructure, pharmaceutical and mining sectors.
A sector-wise breakdown reveals that infrastructure and development corporations have been the highest donors, each by the variety of corporations and the overall funds donated. Put collectively, 23 such corporations, which regularly depend on governments for venture approvals and tenders, gave Rs 248 crore. The BJP was the largest beneficiary, receiving Rs 227 crore from infrastructure companies, adopted by ally TDP at Rs 10.83 crore and the Congress at Rs 9 crore. The one different events who acquired funds from such corporations are the JD(U) and AAP.
CHART: Sector-wise breakdown of donors in 2023-24.
Among the many high 20 donors for all these events, Prudent and Triumph gave probably the most funds in 2023-24 at Rs 1,061 crore and Rs 132.5 crore, respectively. The subsequent largest donor, at Rs 53.35 crore, was Derive Investments, a Mumbai-based enterprise fund. The opposite huge donors are largely corporations within the infrastructure, pharmaceutical and mining sectors.
A sector-wise breakdown reveals that infrastructure and development corporations have been the highest donors, each by the variety of corporations and the overall funds donated. Put collectively, 23 such corporations, which regularly depend on governments for venture approvals and tenders, gave Rs 248 crore. The BJP was the largest beneficiary, receiving Rs 227 crore from infrastructure companies, adopted by ally TDP at Rs 10.83 crore and the Congress at Rs 9 crore. The one different events who acquired funds from such corporations are the JD(U) and AAP.
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CHART: Sector-wise breakdown of donors in 2023-24.
The infra corporations
The most important infrastructure donor was the Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, an Ahmedabad-based agency that has been concerned in dozens of main authorities initiatives in and outdoors Gujarat, which alone gave Rs 50 crore to the BJP, adopted by Macrotech Builders, a Mumbai-based agency owned by Maharashtra Cupboard minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, at Rs 29.7 crore.
CHART: High donors for BJP.
Dineshchandra R Agarwal Infracon has been dealing with investigations by the Revenue Tax Division since 2016, when the corporate premises have been raided by the authorities. It was later served tax notices in 2021-22 in the identical case. In line with I-T Division submissions in courtroom, the probe discovered that “the DRA group has generated unaccounted cash by means of reserving bogus subcontractors bills”.
The corporate had additionally donated Rs 15 crore by way of electoral bonds to the BJP in 2023 and Rs 3 crore to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The corporate had then bagged a Rs 1,200 crore Brihanmumbai Municipal Company (BMC) contract below the Mahayuti authorities. An e mail despatched to the corporate didn’t elicit any response.
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Beneath the scanner of central companies, Dilip Buildcon is one other infra firm that has donated to the BJP. In December 2021, three senior executives of this actual property agency have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly bribing an official of the Nationwide Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for approvals associated to a venture. The corporate’s premises have been subsequently raided by the company. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case of cash laundering based mostly on the CBI’s FIR. In February 2023, the ED hooked up its property to the tune of Rs 20 lakh within the case. An e mail despatched to the corporate didn’t elicit any response.
CHART: High donors for Congress.
A Hyderabad-based actual property agency Rajapushpa Properties has donated massive sums to the Congress by way of its homeowners.
Rajapushpa Properties was raided by the I-T Division for alleged tax evasion in February 2023. The corporate is promoted by P Jayachandra Reddy, P Mahender Reddy, P Sreenivas Reddy, P Sujith Reddy, and P Charan Raj Reddy. They’ve collectively donated Rs 21.5 crore to the Congress.
One other donor recognized as P Pushpaleela Reddy has donated Rs 3 crore to the Congress. The corporate’s LinkedIn profile says it was began by Parupati brothers in 2006. They’re all stated to be family members of former IAS officer P Venkata Rami Reddy, who joined the BRS after retirement. An e mail despatched to the corporate additionally didn’t elicit any response.
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The pharma corporations
After infrastructure, the pharmaceutical sector is the largest donor. Fourteen corporations collectively gave Rs 244 crore to events in 2023-24. Solely the BJP and Congress acquired funds from these corporations. Right here, too, the BJP was the largest beneficiary, receiving Rs 240 crore, with the rest going to the Congress.
Bharat Biotech, the Hyderabad-based agency that developed Covaxin in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, was the largest pharmaceutical donor – it alone gave the BJP Rs 50 crore. 4 different corporations – Zydus Healthcare, Alkem Laboratories, Intas Prescription drugs, and Macleods Prescription drugs – every gave the BJP Rs 25 crore.
In December 2023, Zydus Healthcare was served an I-T Division’s discover demand of Rs 284.58 crore for the evaluation yr 2023-2024. In a regulatory submitting, nonetheless, Zydus Lifesciences, which owns Zydus Healthcare, stated the demand was a results of “obvious errors whereas processing its return of revenue”.
In an e mail response to a question by The Indian Specific on the donations, a Zydus Healthcare spokesperson stated, “These are two unrelated issues that you’re referring to. The corporate’s donation to any political social gathering doesn’t have any linkage to any tax-related issues. Any try to hyperlink each is totally baseless and unfounded.”
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In September 2023, the I-T Division had initiated surveys on Alkem Laboratories’ workplaces and premises following intelligence indicating tax evasion by the pharma firm. The corporate didn’t reply to an e mail despatched by The Indian Specific.
The opposite main donors
Derive Investments, which gave Rs 50 crore to the BJP and Rs 3.35 crore to the Congress, is one in every of solely two corporations among the many high 20 donors 2023-24 that gave funds to multiple social gathering. The opposite such firm is Century Plyboard, a Kolkata-based agency, which gave Rs 5 crore to the Congress and Rs 1 crore to the West Bengal’s ruling TMC. As well as, the founders of Century Plyboard, Sajjan Bhajanka and Sanjay Agarwal, donated Rs 8 crore and Rs 5 crore, respectively, to the Congress.
The subsequent largest donors sector-wise in 2023-24 have been mining (Rs 95.7 crore), chemical substances (Rs 46.6 crore), and vitality (Rs 52 crore).
Amongst these, Rungta Sons, a Kolkata-based mining firm, which gave Rs 50 crore in 2023-24 to the BJP along with Rs 50 crore in electoral bonds, has confronted I-T Division’s probe.
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On December 7, 2023, the I-T Division raided a number of premises related to Rungta Sons in Jharkhand. The corporate didn’t reply to an e mail despatched by The Indian Specific.
Overlaps with electoral bonds
Among the many high 20 donors for the 9 events are 79 corporations, three electoral trusts, two NGOs, and one labour union. People additionally accounted for a lot of of those donors, together with a number of social gathering legislators and heads of corporations. These 79 corporations collectively donated Rs 858 crore in 2023-24, whereas the person donors collectively gave Rs 154 crore.
The sector-wise composition of the businesses who donated funds to political events in 2023-24 mirrors the patterns noticed among the many corporations that purchased electoral bonds, as per disclosures made to the EC, between April 2019 and February 2024.
Among the many corporations that purchased electoral bonds for the 9 events analysed, the infrastructure sector is probably the most represented with 46 corporations giving a complete Rs 2,012 crore over a five-year interval. Among the many electoral bonds purchasers, there have been additionally 39 vitality corporations (who gave a complete Rs 1,120), 18 pharmaceutical companies (Rs 433 crore), and 12 mining corporations (Rs 839 crore).
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Most of the corporations who bought electoral bonds have additionally figured among the many high donors in 2023-24 to the 9 events. There are 26 corporations among the many high 20 donors in 2023-24 who additionally purchased electoral bonds price Rs 401 crore.
The highest electoral bonds donors amongst these companies have been Natco Pharma, Fashionable Highway Makers, and Rungta Sons.
Among the many companies widespread between the 2023-24 donors and the electoral bonds purchasers, the BJP was the most important beneficiary, having acquired Rs 304 crore in 2023-24 in addition to Rs 271 crore by way of bonds.
Nonetheless, 4 corporations – Natco Pharma, Nirma, Star Cement Meghalaya, and Vijay Kumar Mishra Building – donated funds to the BJP simply by way of electoral bonds.
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The Congress acquired Rs 64.5 crore in 2023-24 from six corporations that additionally bought Rs 36.75 crore in electoral bonds. Nonetheless, there are six corporations who had earlier bought electoral bonds for the Congress however didn’t donate to the social gathering in 2023-24, together with Zydus Healthcare, Micro Labs, and Fashionable Highway Makers.
