New Delhi: Over 96 per cent of income of the Trinamool Congress in 2021-22 came from electoral bonds, according to the party's annual audit report, which also showed that its income from these bonds rose from Rs 42 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 528.14 crore in 2021-22. An electoral bond is a financial tool for enabling donations to political parties.
The report, which was released on Friday, stated that out of a total income of Rs 545.74 crore of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 2021-22, as much as Rs 528.14 crore came from electoral bonds. It also said that Rs 14.36 crore came from fees/subscriptions/collections from primary party members. The TMC showed Rs 42 crore income from electoral bonds in 2020-21, according to the report.
The party's expenditure also rose after it won the assembly elections in West Bengal in 2021. The TMC's expenditure was Rs 132.52 crore in 2020-2021 which increased to Rs 268.33 crore in 2021-2022. The report was submitted to the Election Commission. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) declared Rs 162.23 crore as its income in 2021-2022, as per the annual report published by the poll panel. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) showed that the party had an income of Rs 75.84 crore, of which Rs 14 crore were from electoral bonds.
The annual report of seven major political parties was uploaded on the Election Commission's website on November 30. The BJP received Rs 614.53 crore as contributions in excess of Rs 20,000 in the year 2021-2022 while the Congress received Rs 95.45 crore, the report highlighted. The BJP and Congress amassed around 90 percent of the total contribution received by the seven major political parties which stood at Rs 778.73 crore.
