Hyderabad: Major regional parties in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh reported contrasting trends in political funding disclosures for 2024–25, with Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s declared contributions above ₹20,000 falling by 82% to ₹15 crore, even as YSR Congress’s collections surged by 124% to ₹140 crore.According to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), released on Aug 6, BRS received just four donations worth ₹15 crore in 2024–25, compared with eight donations totalling ₹85 crore in 2023–24. The ₹70 crore decline was the largest in absolute terms among the regional parties analysed.
AIMIM, meanwhile, declared no donations above ₹20,000 in 2024–25. It had reported 16 donations worth ₹9 lakh in the previous financial year. ADR identified AIMIM, SKM and NDPP as the only regional parties that had declared such donations in 2023–24 but reported none in 2024–25.Both BRS and AIMIM filed their 2024–25 contribution reports after the prescribed deadline. BRS submitted its report nine days late, while AIMIM filed its report 28 days late. Both parties had filed their reports on time for 2023–24.YSRCP donations rise 124%; TDP and Janasena see declinesIn Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress declared 37 donations worth ₹140 crore in 2024–25, compared with four donations totalling ₹62.5 crore in 2023–24. Its collections increased by ₹77.5 crore, or 124%.ADR noted that the party received a small number of high-value donations, including four donations accounting for the entire ₹62.5 crore declared in 2023–24. Its funding came almost entirely from corporate and business houses, with negligible contributions from other categories.YSR Congress received all its declared donations in 2024–25 through bank transfers, making it the only party among the top recipients to receive its entire declared contribution through that mode. It filed its contribution reports within the prescribed timeline in both years.TDP, which had declared the highest donations among regional parties in 2023–24, reported a 17.1% fall in 2024–25. Its collections declined from ₹100 crore through 172 donations to ₹83 crore through 267 donations, a reduction of ₹17 crore.Over the two financial years, TDP received ₹116 crore from corporate and business houses and ₹66.6 crore from individual donors, giving it one of the most diversified funding patterns among the parties analysed. In 2024–25, 75.5% of its donations were received through cheques or demand drafts with complete donor details.TDP filed its 2023–24 report on time but submitted its 2024–25 report 26 days after the deadline.Janasena Party’s donations declined by ₹10.7 crore, or 29.7%, from ₹36 crore through 288 donations in 2023–24 to ₹25.3 crore through 175 donations in 2024–25.Nearly 60% of Janasena’s 2024–25 donations were received through cheques or demand drafts with incomplete donor details. It was also among the few regional parties to declare contributions from abroad, reporting ₹1.9 lakh from two donors in the United States. The party filed its 2024–25 report 33 days after the deadline.Donors from Andhra Pradesh accounted for 631 donations worth ₹86 crore across the two financial years, while those from Telangana made 231 donations totalling ₹59 crore.Regional parties declared ₹1,051 crore in 2024–25ADR analysed the contribution reports of regional political parties for 2023–24 and 2024–25 available on the Election Commission of India website.Across the country, donations above ₹20,000 increased from 2,861 contributions worth ₹347 crore in 2023–24 to 5,297 contributions totalling ₹1,051 crore in 2024–25. DMK declared the highest donations among regional parties in 2024–25 at ₹365 crore, followed by AITC.The disclosures also show that the five Telangana and Andhra Pradesh parties received substantial sums through the now-discontinued electoral bonds scheme. BRS was the largest recipient among them, declaring ₹495 crore through electoral bonds, followed by TDP with ₹174 crore and YSR Congress with ₹121 crore.
