-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Who funds political parties? Corporates do. According to an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 90% of political funds have been contributed by corporates or business houses. Roughly about half the amount donated to political parties came from Delhi followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat. This is based on declaration of donations submitted by parties to the Election Commission. While BJP is yet to submit details...

-Frontline   Political parties flush with funds provided by corporate houses are winning over journalists, and some news organisations are creating packages for election coverage, making the phenomenon of ‘paid news' all pervasive. THE credibility of journalism and journalists has been greatly undermined by the scourge of cash for coverage, a much-abhorred sickness in the profession worldwide. News space on television, radio and newsprint is compromised with impunity with blatant advertising parading...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party, already battling controversies over its funding, found itself in another embarrassing spot on Thursday. A sting operation by a web portal on eight AAP candidates and one member, including well-known faces like Shazia Ilmi and Kumar Vishwas, allegedly found some of them willing to take donations in cash without a receipt and get work done in return for funds. AAP's political affairs...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: As polls to five state assemblies draw near, cash counters in political parties can look forward to a busy period if historical patterns are anything to go by. An analysis of donations shows that national parties typically collect more than 100 crore each during such periods. According to the data from think-tank Association for Democratic Reforms, six parties together received almost 2,500 crore in donations at the time...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Over 75% of the funding received by political parties is from unknown donors. This flies in the face of claims made by parties that details of their financial statements are in the public domain. According to data analyzed by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the total funds received by six national political parties between 2004-2005 and 2011-2012 was Rs 4,895.96 crore of which only 8.9%...