Gujarat’s little-known parties collected ₹4,300 crore in donations, spent almost nothing: Report
Ahmedabad: A startling case of financial irregularities has come to light in Gujarat. Ten little-known political parties, largely unheard of by the public, collected over ₹4,300 crore in donations between 2019–20 and 2023–24. Together, these parties contested only 43 candidates across three elections, the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election, and secured a mere 54,069 votes.
According to a Dainik Bhaskar investigation, the election expenditure declarations filed with the Election Commission showed a combined spend of just ₹39.02 lakh. However, the audited financial statements of the same parties listed their expenditure at over ₹3,500 crore, raising serious doubts of large-scale fund diversion.
Party-Wise Breakdown
Lokshahi Satta Party – Donations: ₹1,045 crore | Reported spend: ₹1,031 crore | Actual spend: ₹2.27 lakh
Satyavadi Rakshak Party – Donations: ₹416 crore | Reported spend: ₹416 crore | Actual spend: ₹1.43 lakh
New India United Party – Donations: ₹608 crore | Reported spend: ₹407 crore | Actual spend: ₹1.61 lakh
Bharatiya National Janata Dal – Donations: ₹962 crore | Reported spend: ₹961 crore | Actual spend: ₹2.83 lakh
Swatantra Abhivyakti Party – Donations: ₹663 crore | Reported spend: ₹73 crore | Actual spend: ₹12.18 lakh
Bharatiya Jan Parishad – Donations: ₹249 crore | Reported spend: ₹247 crore | Actual spend: ₹14.5 lakh
Saurashtra Janata Party – Donations: ₹200 crore | Reported spend: ₹199 crore | Actual spend: ₹1.47 lakh
Jan Man Party – Donations: ₹133 crore | Reported spend: ₹133 crore | Actual spend: ₹1.31 lakh
Manavadhikar National Party – Donations: ₹120 crore | No audit details | Actual spend: ₹82,000
Garib Kalyan Party – Donations: ₹138 crore | No audit details | Actual spend: ₹3.27 lakh
Violations and loopholes
Investigations found that at least one party, the Satyavadi Rakshak Party, received hundreds of crores in donations without submitting valid PAN details, which are mandatory for large contributions. Officials also noted that while election-time expenses were negligible, audit reports showed inflated expenditure, suggesting funds were diverted elsewhere.
Donations to these parties came not only from Gujarat but from 23 states across India, further complicating the trail of money.
ADR raises red flag
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has highlighted these discrepancies as clear signs of money laundering and tax evasion, calling for stricter oversight of political funding.
Election Commission crackdown
On the recommendation of Gujarat’s Chief Election Officer, the Income Tax Department has been asked to investigate these parties. The Election Commission has also cancelled their registrations, effectively removing them from the list of recognised political entities.
This revelation comes amid ongoing debates about Electoral Bonds and the opacity of political financing in India. While attention has mostly focused on big national and regional parties such as the BJP, Congress, TMC, SP, and NCP, the Gujarat case reveals how obscure parties functioned as conduits for massive financial transactions, sidestepping transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
