Crores in donations, offices missing: India Today investigates 'unknown' parties

Several little-known political parties in India have been receiving huge donations, with some reporting hundreds of crores of rupees between 2019 and 2024. An India Today investigation found that several parties had registered addresses with no political office, were locked, or were being used for completely different purposes. The Bharatiya National Janata Dal received Rs 957.4454 crore in donations between 2019 and 2024, despite having no MP or MLA. The party's registered address was found to have an office and board on the seventh floor, but the party president was unavailable for comment. The New India Party received Rs 608.1373 crore during the same period, with its registered address being found locked and the party's office reportedly located on another floor. The Satyawadi Rakshak Party received Rs 426.2337 crore, with its registered address found locked. The Aam Janmat Party received Rs 220.3694 crore, but its office had been closed for around a year. Local residents and shopkeepers reported that the party's office had operated at the address earlier, but was no longer functioning. The lack of transparency and visibility into these parties' activities has raised questions about the scale of donations and the parties' electoral representation.