After SC junks poll bonds, trusts' funding to political parties triples, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• In 2024-2025, nine electoral trusts donated Rs 3,811 crore to political parties after the Supreme Court scrapped the electoral bonds scheme.
• The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received Rs 3,112 crore, which is 82% of the total donations from these trusts.
• The Indian National Congress received Rs 299 crore, accounting for less than 8% of the total donations.
• The remaining political parties collectively received Rs 400 crore, which is approximately 10% of the total donations.
• Prudent Electoral Trust was a major donor to the BJP, contributing Rs 2,180.07 crore.
• Total contributions by trusts increased by over 200% from Rs 1,218 crore in 2023-2024.

Detailed Insights:

• The electoral trust route allows companies and individuals to donate to a trust, which then donates to political parties.
• The Supreme Court declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional in 2024, leading to increased reliance on electoral trusts.
• Progressive Electoral Trust, funded mainly by Tata Group companies, donated over 80% of its funds to the BJP.
• Companies can now donate through cheque, DD, UPI bank transfers to parties, and parties must declare these donations to the Election Commission.
• While Prudent Electoral Trust donated to multiple parties, the majority of its donations went to the BJP.
• Contribution reports of 13 out of 19 registered electoral trusts were available with the Election Commission as of December 20, 2025.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Electoral Trust: A non-profit company established to receive donations from individuals and companies for distributing to political parties.
• Electoral Bonds: A financial instrument for making anonymous donations to political parties, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
• Political Funding: The process of raising money to support political campaigns and parties, subject to regulations by the Election Commission of India.