BJP has ₹10,107 crore in election account, 75 times more than Congress’s funds, says Ajay Maken in Rajya Sabha

The Bharatiya Janata Party has 75 times more funds than the Congress in its official election account, Congress treasurer and Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Maken said, opening the debate on electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (December 11, 2025). 

Such an imbalance in resources between the two leading parties of the country destroys the level playing field, which is one of “three cornerstones for a healthy democracy”, the other two being “transparency” and “credibility” of polling and related processes, Mr. Maken said. 

In the 20 years since 2004, the BJP’s bank balance had increased from ₹87.96 crore to ₹10,107.2 crore and that of the Congress from ₹38.48 crore to ₹133.97 crore, Mr. Maken said. He pointed out that in 2004, the BJP’s bank balance was ₹87.96 crore compared to the Congress’s ₹38 crore. In 2009, the Congress had ₹221 crore and the BJP ₹150 crore. By 2019, the gap had widened, with the BJP holding ₹3,562 crore — 11 times higher than the Congress’s ₹315 crore. “In 2024, the BJP had ₹10,107.2 crore while the Congress had ₹133.97 crore. The BJP had 75 times more money than the Congress,” he said.   

Mr. Maken accused the government of unleashing the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department on Congress to deprive it of funds just ahead of elections, while also using the agencies to prevent businessmen and big industrialists from donating to the party.

“I have spoken to businessmen, big industrialists. They said during the time of the Congress government, they used to contribute [to political parties] in a 60:40 ratio. At present, let alone 90:10, even at a 95:5 ratio, we [businesses] can’t give it to you because the moment we do it, the ED and IT will come after us, and we are not allowed to do anything,” Mr. Maken claimed. 

Mr. Maken accused the Election Commission of being biased, citing the example of the Bihar government rolling out the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana (₹10,000 women’s self-employment scheme) when the Model Code of Conduct was in place. A different treatment is meted out to Opposition-ruled States, he said. Mr. Maken asked, “If the umpire wears the jersey of a team, what will the other team do? If the umpire itself fixes the match, what will the players do?” 

Mr. Maken accused the ECI of not providing machine-readable electoral rolls, hiding IP addresses and destroying evidence within 45 days. The ECI’s job is to win “trust”, but today its job is to create “suspicion”, he said, citing examples of how voter turnout figures “increased” in the Haryana Assembly election on the day results were announced, from the figures put out two days earlier. He said the ECI remained silent when asked about the extra votes and Assembly- and booth-wise data.

Responding to the allegations, BJP member Sudhanshu Trivedi accused the Congress of creating a ruckus, instead of availing the avenues available to them to seek redressal of their grievances. Taking the example of a cricket match, he said when a team feels a batsman was out, but the umpire had not declared so, they can seek a review. However, instead of going to the umpire for a review, the Congress has been holding press conferences, in anticipation that the third umpire would give the decision on his own.

Hitting back at the allegation of lack of transparency, Mr. Trivedi said in the election for Congress president, in which Mallikarjun Kharge was elected, 22 Congress leaders sought voter lists, but their requests went unheeded as per media reports.

Those who do not share voter lists in their own party are lecturing others on transparency, he noted.