BJP richest political party with Rs 10.03 billion income in FY17

The ADR said the total income of the seven national parties has increased by 51 per cent, or nearly Rs 5.26 billion, between 2015-16 to 2016-17.

Latest News : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is by far the richest political party in India, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said on Tuesday. The ADR analysed the audited accounts of the BJP, and six other national parties, including the Congress, for 2016-17.

The BJP submitted its annual audited accounts to the Election Commission 99 days late, on February 8, 2018, instead of by October 30, 2017. The Congress submitted its 138 days late, on March 19. The seven national parties declared a total income of Rs 15.59 billion. The total expenditure of the seven national parties was Rs 12.28 billion.

The ADR said the total income of the seven national parties has increased by 51 per cent, or nearly Rs 5.26 billion, between 2015-16 to 2016-17. It said the income of the national parties increased from Rs 10.33 billion in 2015-16 to Rs 15.59 billion in 2016-17. The seven national parties are the BJP, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), and Trinamool Congress.

The BJP claimed an income of Rs 10.03 billion, and an expenditure of Rs 7.1 billion during 2016-17. “This forms 66.34 per cent of the total income of national parties added together during 2016-17,” the ADR, a Delhi-based think-tank, said in the report. The Congress said its income in 2016-17 was Rs 2.25 billion, and expenditure was Rs 3.21 billion, which is Rs 960 million more than its total income.

The ADR said, the BJP’s income increased by nearly 81 per cent from Rs 5.70 billion in 2015-16 to Rs 10.03 billion in 2016-17. In the same period, the Congress’ income declined by 14 per cent Rs 2.61 billion to Rs 2.25 billion.

The think tank said four of the seven national parties – BJP, Congress, NCP and CPI – have consistently delayed submitting their audit reports for the past five years. It said the BJP and Congress have delayed submitting their audit reports by an average of almost six months.

It also noted the seven national parties collected 74.98 per cent of their income from voluntary contributions in 2016-17, against 60 per cent from voluntary contributions in 2015-16. The CPI declared the lowest income of Rs 20 million, a mere 0.13 per cent of the total income of seven national parties.

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