Rs 1,869 crore donations, Rs 560 crore tax evasion: Case against 3 Gujarat parties

Three lesser-known political parties in Gujarat have been booked in FIRs following Income Tax Department complaints alleging that they received donations totalling Rs 1,869.61 crore and collectively evaded taxes worth Rs 560.02 crore.

The parties named in the cases are the Bharatiya National Janata Dal (BNJD), registered in Gandhinagar, and the Garib Kalyan Party and Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party, both registered in Ahmedabad.

The Income Tax Department lodged the FIRs with the Gandhinagar CID (Crime) after concerns were raised over large donations received by such “silent” or lesser-known political parties.

According to the FIRs, the parties accepted donations through cheques, RTGS and other banking channels and issued fake donation receipts or slips to the donors.

The money was subsequently withdrawn from bank accounts and allegedly returned to the donors in cash after deducting a pre-agreed commission of 2 to 10 per cent through hawala channels.BNJD: RS 1,143 CRORE DONATIONS, RS 343 CRORE TAX EVASION

The first FIR, registered against the BNJD, was based on a complaint by Rajendra Raj Jehra Ram, Deputy Commissioner of the Income Tax Department.

The accused include BNJD president Surendrakumar Vitthalbhai Gajera, general secretary Vipul Solanki, treasurer Ronaksinh Chavda and CA auditor Adil Sayed.

According to the FIR, BNJD received more than Rs 1,143.85 crore from 56,238 donors between financial years 2019-20 and 2024-25. The tax evasion caused a loss of around Rs 343 crore.

Preliminary Income Tax investigations found that funds were deposited into various BNJD bank accounts through RTGS, using commission agents and donors, with the alleged purpose of enabling donors to claim fraudulent tax deductions.

Fake receipts and donation slips were generated to show the deposits as political contributions. The donors were enabled to claim 100 per cent tax deductions.

The FIR alleges that BNJD subsequently transferred the funds to accounts belonging to entities including JE Trading, Kajal Enterprises and Parmar Associates. Fake purchase bills were allegedly created to account for the transfers.

The cash withdrawn from the banks was then returned to the original donors after deducting a commission of 2 to 10 per cent via hawala networks.

According to CID Crime, BNJD president Surendra Vitthalbhai Gajera determined the commission rates and oversaw the network, including the transfer of cash using dummy companies.

Secretary Vipul Solanki allegedly received donor details from Gajera through WhatsApp, prepared fake donation slips and sent them to the donors.

A hawala receipt was recovered during a search of treasurer Raunak Singh Chavda’s residence. Chats recovered from Chavda’s phone with intermediary Abhishek Sharma allegedly showed funds being remitted after deduction of a 6 per cent commission.

CA Adil Sayed has been accused of digitally signing a fabricated audit report without examining the party’s accounts, visiting its office or meeting its office bearers.GARIB KALYAN PARTY: RS 206 CRORE DONATIONS

A second complaint by the Income Tax Department was registered against the Garib Kalyan Party.

The complaint, filed by Income Tax Department Assistant Director Yatish Shashikant Kale, names party president Neeraj Kumar Kshatriya, secretary Dhananjay Singh Rajput, treasurer Dheeraj Kumar Kshatriya, Abhishek Chandra-prakash Tiwari, Pradeep Singh Parihar and chartered accountants Kuldeepdan Taparia, Ashok Shah and Pankaj Agarwal.

According to the complaint, the party received donations totalling Rs 206.76 crore in its bank accounts between 2022-23 and 2025-26.

The Income Tax Department said that no genuine bills, vouchers or accounts were maintained for these funds. The accused colluded to create forged documents and present them as genuine, while incorrect contribution records in Form 24A were allegedly submitted to the Election Commission.

The transactions resulted in a loss of approximately Rs 62.02 crore to the public exchequer, according to the complaint.

The Income Tax Department has also lodged a complaint against the Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party, another Ahmedabad-registered party, as part of the alleged Rs 1,869.61-crore donation and tax-evasion case.- Ends