In the 2024 Lok Sabha election year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the dominant beneficiary of the Tata Group-backed Progressive Electoral Trust (PET), receiving Rs 757 crore, accounting for nearly 83% of the trust's total disbursals.
According to disclosures submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the trust distributed Rs 914 crore to 10 political parties in 2024-25. The Congress received Rs 77.3 crore, just 8.4% of PET's total political funding.
Apart from the BJP and Congress, PET disbursed Rs 10 crore each to Trinamool Congress (TMC), YSR Congress Party, Shiv Sena, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Janata Dal (United), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Funds Sourced From 15 Tata Group Companies
Progressive Electoral Trust's corpus of Rs 915 crore in 2024-25 originated entirely from 15 companies within the Tata Group.
The largest contributors included Tata Sons - Rs 308 crore, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - Rs 217 crore, and Tata Steel - Rs 173 crore. The remaining contributions came from Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Consumer Products, Tata Elxsi, Tata AutoComp, Tata Communications, and other group firms.
Congress Received Over Rs 313 Crore Through Trust Route
In its annual contribution report filed with the ECI, the Congress declared receiving Rs 517.37 crore in donations above Rs 20,000 during 2024-25.
Out of this, Prudent Electoral Trust contributed Rs 216.33 crore, AB General Electoral Trust gave Rs 15 crore, New Democratic Electoral Trust contributed Rs 5 crore, and Jan Kalyan Electoral Trust donated Rs 9.5 lakh.
Overall, the Congress received more than Rs 313 crore through the electoral trust mechanism, forming a significant share of its total contributions for the year.
Electoral bonds introduced in 2018 and widely criticised for opacity were struck down by the Supreme Court in February 2024 for violating transparency principles. With electoral bonds discontinued, political funding has undergone a structural transition.
The 2024-25 donation disclosures highlight electoral trusts becoming the key vehicle for high-value political donations, especially for national parties and several regional parties, reshaping India's post-bond political finance landscape.
Thirty political parties have submitted their political contribution reports to the Election Commission. However, the BJP's 2024-25 contribution report has not yet been uploaded on the Election Commission website. A BJP functionary said the party submitted its report late to the Commission. When asked about the missing upload, an Election Commission official said the matter would be looked into.
