West Bengal’s ruling party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) received ₹184.96 crore from 448 donors as political donations in 2024-25, according to the party’s contribution reports shared with the Election Commission of India.
This amount is about three-fold more than ₹64.24 crore that Mamata Banerjee-led party had received as funds in 2023-24.
The TMC’s political funding after the 2021 assembly victory was heavily driven by electoral bond donations, which surged year-on-year — especially in 2022 and 2023.
The electoral bonds, the anonymous donations, were however scrapped in February 2024. Since, then the funding has been primarily through electoral trusts.
An electoral trust is a non-profit entity set up by multiple companies to collect and distribute political donations to registered political parties in India — with full donor disclosure, unlike electoral bonds.
₹528 Crore in 2021-22
In 2021-22, the TMC received ₹528 Crore as funding, 96 per cent of this from Electoral Bonds. In 2022-23, the TMC got ₹325 Crore worth political funding, mostly through Electoral Bonds.
Assembly Elections 2021 were held in West Bengal in eight phases from 27 March to 29 April 2021. The incumbent Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee won the election by a landslide
The TMC incurred ₹154.282 crore expenditure out of which it spent ₹27.009 crore on publicity and ₹33.02 towards travel expenses, according to election watchdog, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The elections are scheduled in West Bengal in March-April. The funding for 2025-26 will be released next year before elections.
Top TMC donors
The party’s top donors include Delhi and Mumbai-based electoral trusts, a lottery distributor in Bengal, and companies with manufacturing units in the state.
Prudent Electoral Trust contributed ₹92 crore to the TMC, followed by Tiger Associates at ₹50 crore.
Progressive Electoral Trust, whose main contributors are Tata Group companies, gave ₹10 crore to the party.
Among the other companies that donated significant sums to the TMC are: stainless steel manufacturer and exporter Shyam Ferro Alloys Ltd, which contributed ₹3 crore; ₹3 crore from Kolkata-based trading and mining company Kejriwal Mining; ₹2 crore from iron and steel manufacturer Super Smelters that runs a captive power plant at the Jamuria Industrial Estate in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district.
The highest individual donor was Kishan Gopal Mohta, a finance professional who contributed ₹3 crore to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
Political Funding
All registered political parties in India are required to submit annual audit and contribution reports to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
This is a mandatory financial compliance requirement aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in political funding, as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Income Tax Act, 1961.
As per the provisions in Indian tax laws, individuals and companies can receive a 100 per cent tax rebate (deduction) on eligible political donations under Section 80GGB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This deduction reduces the company’s total taxable income.
Key Takeaways
- TMC’s funding increased significantly in FY-25, highlighting the party’s financial strategy shift after the abolishment of electoral bonds.
- The use of electoral trusts has become the primary source of TMC’s funding post-2024, ensuring donor transparency.
- Major donations came from both corporate entities and individual contributors, indicating diverse support for TMC ahead of elections.
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