For the first time since the Supreme Court struck down electoral bonds in February 2024, financial disclosures reveal that electoral trusts have now become the primary funding channel for political parties.
In 2024–25, the Progressive Electoral Trust (PET), which routed a total of ₹915 crore through trusts, contributed the largest share to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP received ₹757.6 crore from PET, accounting for nearly 83% of the trust’s total disbursals. In addition, the party received ₹150 crore from New Democratic ET, ₹30.1 crore from Harmony ET, ₹21 crore from Triumph ET, ₹9.5 lakh from Jan Kalyan ET, and ₹7.75 lakh from Einzigartig ET. Overall, the BJP received approximately ₹959 crore through electoral trusts. By comparison, in 2018–19, PET had disbursed a total of ₹454 crore, 75% of which went to the BJP.
The Congress party received ₹77.3 crore from PET, ₹5 crore from New Democratic ET, and ₹9.5 lakh from Jan Kalyan ET. In addition, Prudent ET contributed ₹216.33 crore and AB General ET ₹15 crore, meaning Congress secured ₹313 crore of its total ₹517.37 crore contributions via trusts. In 2023–24, the party had received a combined ₹281.48 crore from trusts and bonds.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) received ₹153.5 crore via trusts, while its total receipts stood at ₹184.96 crore. BJD reported ₹60 crore this year, including ₹35 crore from trusts. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) received ₹15 crore via trusts. PET also disbursed ₹10 crore each to TMC, YSR Congress, Shiv Sena, BJD, BRS, JDU, DMK, and LJP (Ram Vilas).
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reported ₹38.10 crore in contributions this year, up from ₹11.06 crore in 2023–24. This included ₹10 crore from PET, ₹5 crore from Prudent ET, and ₹2 crore from Samaj ET. YSR Congress reported ₹140 crore, while Telugu Desam Party (TDP) reported ₹83.04 crore.
Tata Group companies were major contributors to PET. Tata Sons Pvt Ltd donated ₹308 crore, TCS ₹217.6 crore, Tata Steel ₹173 crore, Tata Motors ₹49.4 crore, Tata Power ₹39.5 crore, Tata Communications ₹14.8 crore, and Tata Consumer Products, Tata Elxsi, and Tata Autocomp Systems ₹19.7 crore each. Mahindra-backed New Democratic ET contributed ₹160 crore, of which ₹150 crore went to the BJP.
Experts say that with electoral bonds gone, trusts are bringing greater transparency and structural changes to political funding. This year’s disclosures indicate that high-value donations to both national and regional parties are now increasingly routed through trusts.
