1. More than 66 % of the total income of the seven national parties in 2021-22 came from electoral bonds and unknown sources, as per a report by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
2. The income of seven parties – BJP, Congress, TMC, NCP, CPI, CPI(M) and the National People’s Party – from unknown sources was 66.04 per cent.
3. ADR, an NGO working for electoral reforms, citing official data, said seven national parties collected Rs 2,172 crore from unknown sources in 2021-22. 83.41 per cent of the income (Rs 1,811.94 crore) from unknown sources came through electoral bonds.
4. As parties are not obliged to declare the details of donors who contribute less than Rs 20,000 in a single tranche, the income from this source is termed unknown. After electoral bonds were introduced in 2018, contributions received through these bonds too were bracketed as unknown sources of income.
5. Political parties need to declare donations that exceed Rs. 20,000. Such a declaration is made by making a report and submitting the same to the EC. Failure to do so on time disentitles a party from tax relief under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

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