Ahmedabad: A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analyzed the recently published contribution reports of electoral trusts for the 2024-25 financial year on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website and identified Gujarat as the fifth largest beneficiary of funding by electoral trusts with Rs 200.5 crore.Maharashtra topped the list, according to the report, at Rs 1,225.4 crore, followed by Telangana at Rs 358.2 crore, Haryana at Rs 212.9 crore, and West Bengal at Rs 203.8 crore. In the case of Gujarat, the entire amount was donated by the Prudent Electoral Trust. The Satya/Prudent Electoral Trust (ET) was the only trust to submit its annual report for all 12 years starting 2013-14, according to the report. Out of the 228 corporate and business houses that contributed to electoral trusts in FY 2024-25, 182 contributed to Prudent ET, with a total contribution of Rs 2,479 crore.
Likewise, out of 99 individuals and proprietors that contributed to electoral trusts, 96 contributed to Prudent ET, accounting for Rs 187.5 crore. Several Gujarat-based major corporates were among the donors, according to the submission on the ECI website. Industry analysis of contributors indicated that manufacturing firms accounted for the largest contributions, according to the report, followed by real estate, communication/telecom, finance, mining/construction/infrastructure/engineering, power and oil, healthcare, among others.
