Regional political parties saw an unprecedented surge in donations during FY 2024-25, with declared contributions above Rs 20,000 crossing the Rs 1,000-crore mark and the number of donations rising sharply. An analysis of contribution reports filed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) shows that while funding to regional parties grew dramatically, transparency concerns remain as dozens of parties are yet to make their reports publicly available and several others missed statutory filing deadlines.
The study analysed 40 of India’s 67 recognised regional parties. Contribution reports of 39 parties for FY 2023-24 and 34 parties for FY 2024-25 were available on the ECI website and formed the basis of the analysis.
The biggest story was the steep rise in donations. Regional parties collectively received 5,297 donations above Rs 20,000 in FY 2024-25, up 85% from 2,861 donations in FY 2023-24. The value of these contributions more than tripled from Rs 347.69 crore to Rs 1,051.56 crore, indicating a major expansion in fundraising by regional players.
Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK emerged as the biggest beneficiary in FY 2024-25, declaring donations worth Rs 365.78 crore through 467 contributions. In the previous financial year, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had topped the list with donations worth Rs 100.19 crore from 172 contributions.
The report also found that compliance with disclosure norms weakened during FY 2024-25. Only 12 regional parties submitted their contribution reports on time, compared to 24 parties a year earlier. Those filing within the prescribed deadline included JJP, LJP (Ram Vilas), Kerala Congress (M), NPF, RLTP, MGP, BJD, AIUDF, AIADMK, DMK, YSR Congress and JMM. In contrast, 21 parties filed their reports late, with delays ranging from eight to 160 days. In FY 2023-24, 14 parties had delayed their filings.
Several parties that had complied with deadlines earlier slipped into the delayed category in FY 2024-25. These included TDP, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), AIMIM, AJSU Party and Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). Others such as JD(U), Apna Dal (Soneylal), CPI(ML)(Liberation), AITC, INLD, JD(S), CPI and DMDK continued their pattern of late submissions in both years.
Transparency concerns were compounded by the absence of a large number of reports from the ECI website. Contribution reports of 33 regional parties for FY 2024-25 were not available. These include Bharat Adivasi Party, Goa Forward Party, Voice of the People Party, Citizen Action Party-Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Asom Gana Parishad, Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, Tipra Motha Party, All India Forward Bloc, All India N.R. Congress, Bodoland People’s Front, Hill State People’s Democratic Party and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, among others. Reports of 28 regional parties were similarly unavailable for FY 2023-24.
Among parties whose reports were available for both years, DMK recorded the largest jump in donations. Its declared contributions increased by Rs 344.22 crore, from Rs 21.56 crore in FY 2023-24 to Rs 365.78 crore in FY 2024-25. West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress (AITC) posted the second-largest increase, with donations rising from Rs 6.42 crore to Rs 184.96 crore. YSR Congress, AIADMK and BJD also registered substantial gains, with BJD reporting Rs 60 crore in donations after declaring none above Rs 20,000 in the previous year.
On the other hand, Telangana’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) recorded the sharpest decline in absolute terms. Its donations fell from Rs 85 crore to Rs 15.09 crore, a drop of nearly Rs 70 crore. TDP and Janasena Party also reported significant falls. Jannayak Janta Party recorded the steepest percentage decline, while NPF saw donations shrink by more than 92%.
Three parties, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and AIMIM, reported no donations above Rs 20,000 in FY 2024-25 despite having declared such contributions the previous year.
The report highlights the continuing dominance of big donors and organised funding channels. The top 10 donors collectively contributed Rs 832.50 crore through 76 donations during the two financial years. Contributions from these donors surged from Rs 238.50 crore in FY 2023-24 to Rs 594 crore in FY 2024-25, representing a 149% increase in value.
Prudent Electoral Trust retained its position as the largest donor, contributing Rs 434 crore through 38 donations across the two years. It alone accounted for more than half of all donations made by the top 10 contributors. M/S Tiger Associates emerged as the second-largest donor with contributions of Rs 160 crore, all made in FY 2024-25. Progressive Electoral Trust, Vedanta Limited and AB General Electoral Trust also figured among the leading contributors.
Electoral trusts remained a dominant force in political funding. Prudent Electoral Trust, Progressive Electoral Trust and AB General Electoral Trust together contributed Rs 536 crore, accounting for nearly 64.4% of all donations made by the top 10 donors.
Corporate and business houses continued to be the largest source of funding for regional parties. They contributed Rs 872.54 crore through 650 donations, accounting for more than 62% of the total value of donations reported during the two years. Contributions from this category nearly tripled, rising from Rs 227.61 crore in FY 2023-24 to Rs 644.93 crore in FY 2024-25.
Individual donors, meanwhile, made the largest number of donations. They accounted for 5,647 donations, or nearly 69% of all contributions reported. Yet their financial significance declined sharply. While the number of individual donations increased from 2,041 to 3,606, the total value fell from Rs 102.43 crore to Rs 91.52 crore, reducing their share of the overall funding pie from almost 30% to less than 9%.
Another striking trend was the explosion in donations from inadequately disclosed or undeclared donors. Such contributions rose from just Rs 6.62 crore in FY 2023-24 to Rs 302.67 crore in FY 2024-25, an increase of more than 4,470%. Their share of total donations jumped from 1.9% to 28.78%, raising fresh questions about transparency in political funding.
The report also captures the final impact of the now-scrapped Electoral Bonds Scheme. Before the Supreme Court struck down the scheme in February 2024, AITC had received Electoral Bond donations worth Rs 612.42 crore, the highest among regional parties, followed by BRS with Rs 495.52 crore.
Overall, the findings reveal a dramatic transformation in the funding landscape of regional political parties. While declared donations have reached record levels and corporate contributions continue to dominate, the growing share of inadequately disclosed donations and the weak compliance with filing requirements are likely to renew concerns about accountability and transparency in India’s political finance system.
