What Is The Prudent Electoral Trust? A Look At Political Funding After Bonds Ban

Last Updated:December 22, 2025, 18:26 IST

After the Supreme Court ended the Electoral Bond Scheme, Prudent Electoral Trust became key in political funding, channeling Rs 2,668 crore to political parties in 2024-25

With electoral bonds now consigned to history, Prudent's role has become central to political funding. (News18 Hindi/AI-Generated)

February 15, 2024, marked a watershed moment in the country’s electoral finance history when the Supreme Court struck down the Electoral Bond Scheme as unconstitutional, underlining that secrecy in political funding was incompatible with democracy. The verdict ordered the scheme’s immediate closure and reiterated that transparency, not anonymity, is the cornerstone of a democratic system.

Yet, data from the first full year after the ban tells a striking story. An estimated Rs 2,668 crore was routed to political parties in 2024-25, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alone receiving around Rs 2,180 crore, while the Congress party got about Rs 216 crore. With electoral bonds gone, the obvious question is, where is this money coming from, through which channels, and who decides how much each party receives?

The answer increasingly points to one entity, the Prudent Electoral Trust.

Founded in 2013, long before the bonds scheme was introduced, Prudent has quietly grown into the country’s largest and most influential electoral trust, acting as a conduit between corporate donors and political parties. Set up originally by Bharti Enterprises as the Satya Electoral Trust, it was renamed the Prudent Electoral Trust in 2014. It is registered as a Section 8 non-profit company under the Companies Act and operates under the Electoral Trust Scheme notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

With electoral bonds now consigned to history, Prudent’s role has become central to political funding. The issue is no longer just about the quantum of money, but about the routes through which it flows, particularly to the ruling party, and the degree of transparency that accompanies it.

Officially, the trust is run by independent professionals. Its current directors and shareholders, who act as trustees, include Mukul Anand Goyal and Ganesh V Venkatachalam, both associated with the trust since 2014. While Bharti Group executives were initially involved, shareholding changes over the years have been cited to project independence, even as Bharti Enterprises is widely believed to retain effective control.

The trust’s operating model differs from electoral bonds in form, if not always in outcome. Instead of companies donating directly to political parties, corporate and individual donors deposit funds with the trust. Under the rules, at least 95% of the money collected in a financial year must be distributed to political parties within the same year.

Prudent is required to file an annual contribution report with the Election Commission, disclosing the names of donors and the parties funded. However, while donor identities are made public, the precise amount contributed by each donor remains confidential. Allocation of funds to parties is based either on donor preference or the trust’s internal decisions. Historically, roughly 80% of Prudent’s disbursements have gone to the BJP.

In 2024-25, its major donors reportedly included companies such as Bharti Airtel, DLF, Hero MotoCorp, Jubilant Foodworks, JK Tyre, Indiabulls, Orient Cement and Megha Engineering.

Since its inception, Prudent has raised more than Rs 5,000 crore. Data compiled from filings with the Election Commission and analyses by the Association for Democratic Reforms shows a consistent pattern in its disbursements. Here’s the data based on approximate figures:

News india What Is The Prudent Electoral Trust? A Look At Political Funding After Bonds Ban

Read More