Number Theory: Big public donations are just a fraction of political funding

Political parties are mandated to disclose the details of donations of ₹20,000 and higher. This disclosure for 2023-24 – the financial year just preceding the 2024 Lok Sabha elections – shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was far ahead of the Congress, its nearest rival in national elections, in terms of donation receipts. However, there is more to political funding than the latest data uploaded by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Here are three charts that explain this.