Congress Received Over Rs 139 Crore in Donations in 2019-20; Sibal Gave Rs 3 Crore

The Congress received over Rs 139 crore in donations in 2019-20 with senior leader Kapil Sibal being the biggest individual donor among its members by contributing Rs 3 crore to the party fund. The contribution report for 2019-20 of the Congress has been put in the pubic domain by the Election Commission.

It shows that donations by ITC and associated companies were over Rs 19 crore, while Prudent Electoral Trust contributed Rs 31 crore. As per provisions of the electoral laws, political parties have to report contributions above Rs 20,000 made by individuals, companies, electoral trusts, and organisations.

While former prime minister Manmohan Singh donated Rs 1,08,000, former party chief Rahul Gandhi donated Rs 54,000 and party president Sonia Gandhi donated Rs 50,000 between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020. Sibal, part of the group of 23 leaders who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 seeking radical organisational overhaul, emerged as the biggest individual donor among the party’s members, giving Rs 3 crore to the party fund in 2019-20.

Other members of the G23’ in the list of donors include Anand Sharma (Rs 54,000), Shashi Tharoor (Rs 54,000), Ghulam Nabi Azad (Rs 54,000), Milind Deora (Rs 1 lakh) and Raj Babbar (Rs 1,08,000). The total donations of over Rs 20,000 amounted to Rs 139,01,62,000.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, A K Antony, Kumari Selja and Ahmed Patel, who passed away last year, were among those who made financial donations to the party. Interestingly, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit Congress in March 2020 to join the BJP, had donated Rs 54,000 to the party in the 2019-20 financial year. The contribution document was submitted to the EC by Congress in December last year and was signed by the party’s interim Treasurer Pawan Bansal.

In its contribution report Bahujan Samaj Party had said it has not received donations above Rs 20,000.