New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday raised questions over a media report that claimed some “anonymous” political parties in Gujarat received donations of Rs 4,300 crore between 2019-20 and 2023-24.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, shared the report on X and asked whether the Election Commission (EC) would investigate or seek affidavits from those involved.
According to the report, 10 such parties were registered in Gujarat and received the massive funding despite contesting very few elections. Between the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the 2022 Assembly elections, they fielded only 43 candidates who together polled 54,069 votes. Their official election expenditure was just Rs 39.02 lakh, but audit reports recorded spending of over Rs 3,500 crore.
In a sharp attack on the poll body, Gandhi posted in Hindi, “There are some anonymous parties in Gujarat whose names no one has heard of — but they received donations worth Rs 4,300 crore! Where did these thousands of crores come from? Who is running them? And where did the money go? Will the Election Commission investigate — or will it ask for an affidavit here too? Or will it change the law itself, so that this data can also be hidden?”
The Election Commission has not yet issued a response to the claims. On August 17, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had told reporters that Gandhi should either submit an affidavit with proof of irregularities in electoral rolls or apologise to the nation.
The fresh controversy has sparked a wider debate on political funding transparency and the credibility of India’s electoral institutions.
