Corporate political funding in India: Legal framework, constitutional dilemmas and global electoral insights

In modern electoral democracies, the role of financial resources in politics is both inevitable and deeply contested. In India, corporate political funding has become a defining, yet increasingly opaque, aspect of electoral competition. Corporate contributions often serve strategic purposes, such as influencing public policy and securing regulatory advantages, thereby raising profound constitutional questions around transparency, accountability, and democratic legitimacy. The historical trajectory of political finance in India reveals a persistent tension between regulation and a growing demand for funds. A legal ban on company donations in 19691 , while well-intentioned, unintentionally pushed political finance into the shadows. The subsequent re-legalisation of corporate donations in 1985 has opened crest gate for corporate electoral funding in the Indian politics. In India, the legal framework governing corporate political funding presents a fundamental challenge to the constitutional principles of transparency, electoral equity, and accountability. While political parties are central to a functioning democracy, the legal architecture for corporate donations has progressively institutionalised secrecy, creating a system that is fragmented and opaque. A patchwork of laws, including the “Representation of the People Act, 1951”, the “Companies Act, 2013”, and successive Finance Acts, has facilitated this trend.