Lok Sabha Polls: BJP launches donation campaign 'Donation For Nation Building' for making India 'Viksit Bharat'

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday kicked off a donation campaign called #DonationForNationBuilding ahead of the Lok Sabha polls scheduled this year.

Party president JP Nadda shared the information on platform X (formerly Twitter). He wrote, "I have donated to the BJP to pledge my individual support to PM Modi's visions for making India a Viksit Bharat."

He also requested the supporters of the saffron party to make contributions through the NaMo application. "Let us all come forward and and join this #DonationForNationBuilding mass movement using the NaMo App," the post said.



In 2022-23, as per Election Commission data, BJP had cornered the lion's share of the donation from the public through electoral bonds.

Also Read: SC announces verdict on electoral bonds scheme: What is it and how is it connected with poll funding?

The saffron party's funding surged to Rs 719 crore in fiscal year 2022-23, marking a 17.1 per cent rise from FY 2021-22 when the party had received Rs 614 crore of donations.

In February, the Supreme Court had struck down electoral bond scheme after declaring it unconstitutional.

The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had said that poll bonds are violative of fundamental rights and they are not the only way to curb black money.

Also Read: Electoral Bonds: BJP took home lion's share of Rs 16,000 crore political funding

As part of initiatives to increase political fundraising transparency, the government had announced the programme on January 2, 2018, and it was termed as an alternative to monetary contributions given to political parties.

As per the scheme's provisions, only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and those that received at least 1 per cent of the total votes cast in the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha or a state legislative assembly are eligible to receive electoral bonds.

Electoral bonds are financial instruments that act as promissory notes or bearer bonds. They can be purchased by individuals or companies in India specifically for contributing funds to political parties. These bonds are issued by the State Bank of India (SBI) and are sold in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 1 crore.

Donations made under this scheme by corporate and even foreign entities enjoy 100 per cent tax exemption, while the identities of the donors are kept confidential, both by the bank and the recipient political parties.