A new analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that India’s manufacturing sector donated the most money to electoral trusts in 2024–25, contributing a massive Rs 1,063.128 crore. These trusts, in turn, fund political parties. Real estate companies were the second‑largest contributors with Rs 629.17 crore, followed by the communication and IT sector with Rs 451.85 crore. Finance companies donated Rs 389.85 crore, while the mining, construction and infrastructure sector contributed Rs 358.68 crore.
In all, 228 business houses together donated Rs 3,636.819 crore to electoral trusts last year, while 99 individuals contributed another Rs 187.6227 crore. The BJP received the lion’s share of this money — Rs 3,157.6549 crore, or about 82.5% of all funds disbursed. The Congress received Rs 298.7795 crore (7.81%) and the Trinamool Congress received Rs 102 crore, while 19 other parties together received Rs 267.9178 crore.
The report notes that the top 10 donors alone contributed almost half of all donations — about Rs 1,908.86 crore. Elevated Avenue Realty LLP (formerly L&T Avenue Realty) was the biggest contributor, donating Rs 500 crore. Tata Sons followed with Rs 308.13 crore, Tata Consultancy Services with Rs 217.62 crore and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited with Rs 175 crore.
Maharashtra emerged as the biggest source of contributions, followed by Telangana, Haryana, West Bengal and Gujarat. However, ADR flagged a major transparency issue: donor addresses for contributions worth Rs 1,065.2048 crore were missing. Much of this money went to the Prudent Electoral Trust, originally set up by Bharti Enterprises, which also disbursed the highest amount — Rs 2,668.4647 crore—to 15 political parties. The Progressive Electoral Trust was the next biggest donor, contributing Rs 914.97 crore to 10 parties.
ADR also pointed out several compliance concerns. Five out of the 15 trusts that filed reports claimed they received no contributions at all. Reports for five other registered trusts were not available on the Election Commission’s website. The Harmony Electoral Trust also drew attention by showing a mismatch in its accounts: it received Rs 35.55 crore but disbursed Rs 35.65 crore, which is Rs 10 lakh more than it received.
Overall, electoral trusts collected Rs 3,826.34 crore and disbursed almost the same amount during 2024–25, with the BJP receiving more than 82% of the total. The findings come after the Supreme Court’s February 2024 decision struck down the electoral bonds scheme, which previously allowed anonymous political donations.
