Daijiworld Media Network
New Delhi, Apr 15: Though it did not win any seats in Lok Sabha, India’s third largest national party BSP has the biggest bank balance among political parties. According to official records the party had submitted an expenditure report to EC and declared a whopping amount of Rs 670 crore in eight accounts in banks in the national capital region.
The numerical strength of Dalits is said to be one main reason for the rising importance of the party in states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. BSP’s alliance partner Samajwadi Party takes the second spot with a bank balance of Rs 471 crore. Hence, by sharing 38 seats each and keeping the Congress out of the alliance, SP and BSP are expected to be one of the strongest alliances in coming polls.
However, after the recent Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana, a slight dip was noted in its cash deposits.
Congress is on the third spot with Rs 196 crore as bank balance. However, the party has not updated the details since its victory in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. Telugu Desam Party comes next with a cash deposit of Rs 107 crore while BJP comes fifth with a bank balance of Rs 82 crore.
This could also be attributed to the fact that BJP claims to have spent Rs 758 crore which is the largest expenditure by any party.
As per TOI report, the income tax returns of these parties, carried out by Association for Democratic Reforms, BJP showed the highest income with contributions worth Rs 1,034 crore for 2016-17 and Rs 1,027 crore in 2017-18.
BSP’s income dropped from Rs 174 crore to Rs 52 crore during the same period. Congress’s income for 2016-2017 is shown as Rs 225 crore. It has not declared its income in the subsequent financial years to the EC.
CPM has declared an income of over Rs 100 crore on an average in each of the last few financial years. About 87% of the income of these parties is through voluntary contributions, with BJP being the only one to have shown a gain of Rs 210 crore through electoral bonds in 2017-18.
The report says that about 87% of the income of these parties is through voluntary contributions, with BJP the only one to have shown a gain of Rs 210 crore through electoral bonds in 2017-18.