Next Story
Newszop

ECI still silent on Rahul's queries on Rs 4,300 cr donations to small Guj. parties

Send Push
National Heraldpublisher-detail-arrow
28th August, 2025 20:40 IST

The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) continued silence on a startling revelation about political donations is drawing mounting scrutiny. Despite public appeals, notably from Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the poll body has yet to clarify whether it will investigate reports that 10 little-known political outfits in Gujarat received a staggering Rs 4,300 crore between 2019–20 and 2023–24, as reported by prominent Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar based on data gathered from the ECI.

The 10 parties named in the report are: Lokshahi Satta Party, Bharatiya National Janata Dal, Swatantra Abhivyakti Party, New India United Party, Satyavadi Rakshak Party, Bharatiya Jan Parishad, Gujarat Sarva Samaj Party, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Party, Bharatiya Rashtriya Morcha, and Loktantrik Jan Vikas Party.

The absence of any official statement comes at a time when public confidence in electoral transparency is already under strain. Gandhi, currently leading the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, has accused the ECI of selective intervention, charging it with turning a blind eye to irregularities that strike at the heart of Indian democracy.

The allegations

In a post in Hindi on X on Wednesday, Gandhi highlighted the report that said ten political parties, virtually unknown to the electorate, had collectively received Rs 4,300 crore in donations. These groups contested only 43 seats across three elections — the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls — garnering just 54,069 votes.

What has amplified concerns is the gap between their reported expenditure and audit records. According to filings, the parties claimed to have spent only Rs 39.02 lakh, yet their audit books showed expenses soaring above Rs 3,500 crore. Gandhi posed three pointed questions: “Where did these thousands of crores come from? Who is running these parties? And where did the money go?”

Will expose more ‘vote chori’ by BJP in 6 months: Rahul Gandhi

He went on to ask whether the ECI would launch a formal investigation, whether it would demand affidavits — like it had from him in the matter of what he calls 'vote chori' — or whether it would, in his words, “simply change the law to bury the data altogether”. He tagged his remarks with #VoteChori, linking them to his ongoing campaign against alleged electoral manipulation.

The Gujarat link

The revelation is politically sensitive not only because of the vast sums involved, but also because it centres on Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state and the ruling BJP's political bastion.

Although no evidence has directly tied the BJP to the donations, the discovery that shadowy outfits in Gujarat possibly acted as conduits for enormous sums raises pressing questions about the funding ecosystem in a state that has long been central to the BJP’s rise. The optics of financial opacity in Modi’s backyard will likely provide ammunition to the Opposition, especially in the run-up to state and national polls.

A pattern of opacity

India’s political financing framework has long faced criticism for its lack of transparency. Thousands of Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) exist on paper but remain electorally invisible, even as some of them continue to receive funds. In 2018, the government introduced the electoral bonds scheme, promising cleaner funding by routing donations through the State Bank of India. But by keeping donor identities secret, the scheme itself became a vehicle for hidden influence.

In February 2024, the Supreme Court struck down electoral bonds as unconstitutional, affirming the public’s right to know who funds political parties. Yet the Gujarat case underlines how opacity persists through other channels, including obscure parties that function less as political actors than as financial intermediaries.

UP names in Bihar draft rolls: INDIA Bloc raises alarm, EC denies claim

Analysts warn that such practices distort the democratic process. “When outfits with negligible voter support handle thousands of crores, it suggests money is being laundered into the system in ways that bypass accountability,” one Delhi-based political observer noted.

Political and institutional stakes

So far, no major political party other than the Congress has spoken publicly on the issue, and the ECI has refrained from comment. For critics, that silence itself is troubling. Gandhi’s demand for a probe effectively puts the Commission’s credibility on the line, raising the question of whether the institution will act with independence or allow suspicions of partiality to fester.

For the BJP, the controversy carries reputational risks by association, even without direct involvement. Given that it touches on Gujarat, the PM's home state, opponents are likely to present the episode as symptomatic of deeper failures of governance and transparency under Modi’s leadership.

The stakes extend far beyond partisanship. For voters, the idea that anonymous entities can receive thousands of crores with no clear accountability corrodes faith in democratic institutions. For the ECI, already criticised over its handling of voter rolls and electoral conduct, inaction risks further erosion of trust.

Meanwhile, Gandhi’s choice to foreground the issue during his Voter Adhikar Yatra shows an effort to link concerns over political finance with a broader campaign for electoral fairness. His framing positions transparency in donations as part of the same struggle as protecting voter rights — a move that could resonate with citizens disillusioned by the opacity of the system.

The Gujarat donations scandal now stands as a test case. Will the Election Commission investigate the source and use of these funds, demanding disclosures from the obscure parties involved? Or will silence and procedural delays deepen suspicions that financial opacity in politics remains unchecked?

You may also like

NewsPointGenZNewsPointVideosNewsPointGamesNewsPointCricket
Loving Newspoint? Download the app now