The ruling BJP received nearly Rs 1300 crore through electoral bonds in the 2022-23, which was seven times more than what the Congress got in the same period through the same route.

The BJP’s total contributions stood at Rs 2120 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal, of which 61 per cent came from electoral bonds, according to the party’s annual audited report submitted to the Election Commission.

In FY 2021-22, the party’s total contributions were to the tune of Rs 1775 crore.

The party’s total income in 2022-23 stood at Rs 2360.8 crore, up from Rs 1917 crore in FY 2021-22.

The Congress, on the other hand, earned Rs 171 crore from electoral bonds which was down from Rs 236 crore in FY 2021-22.

The BJP and the Congress are recognised national parties.

The Samajwadi Party, a recognised state party, had earned Rs 3.2 crore through electoral bonds in 2021-22. In 2022-23, it received no contributions from these bonds.

Another state recognised party, the TDP, earned Rs 34 crore through electoral bonds in 2022-23 which was up 10 times from the previous fiscal.

The BJP also earned Rs 237 crore from interests in the last fiscal, up from Rs 135 crore in 2021-22.

Out of its total expenditure on ‘election and general propaganda’, the BJP paid Rs 78.2 crore for use of aircraft and helicopters, which is down from Rs 117.4 crore in 2021-22.

The party also paid Rs 76.5 crore as financial assistance to candidates, down from Rs 146.4 crore in 2021-22. The party has shown this assistance under the head ‘total payments’.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Amid the upheaval in Pakistan over delayed election results, with some reports putting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates in the lead or winning, many moved courts alleging that their defeat was a result of ‘rigging,’ ARY news reported on Saturday.

According to the report, several more candidates could be moving high courts over the next few days alleging that the votes were rigged.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-affiliated Independent candidates, too, moved to the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging the results of the PP-164 and NA-118, where father-son duo Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz secured victory.

In his petition, Independent candidate Yousuf Mio, who contested against the PML-N president, claimed that the returning officer (RO) did not allow the petitioner to enter the office.

“The results were announced in the petitioner’s absence,” stated the application, urging the court to direct the returning officer to announce the results as per Form 45.

“The court also bars the Election Commission from issuing the final result,” the petitioner said, requesting the court to declare Form-47 results’ null and void.

Meanwhile, Alia Hamza’s husband, whose wife contested against Hamza Shehbaz, challenged the result and noted that the PML-N candidate lost the election as per Form-45, ARY News reported.

On the other hand, Dr Yasmeen Rashid also challenged former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s victory in Lahore’s NA-130 constituency in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Another Independent candidate, Shehzad Farooq, challenged Maryam Nawaz’s win from Lahore’s NA:119 while another PML-N candidate Ata Tarar’s win from NA:127 was also been challenged in court by PTI-supported Independent candidate Zaheer Abbas Khokhar.

Rehana Dar, mother of Usman Dar, petitioned the high court for recounting of votes in Sialkot’s NA-71, challenging the win for PML-N veteran Khawaja Asif in the Sialkot constituency.

In Islamabad, PTI-backed candidates Shoaib Shaheen and Ali Bukhari also challenged the results of constituencies NA-47 and NA-48 respectively, in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Talking to journalists, Shoaib Shaheen said, “We have requested the registrar’s office to schedule an immediate hearing. We urge the chief justice to expedite the case since all of Islamabad knows that NA-47 is my constituency. I have the Form-45. We have won this election with a significant majority,” ARY News reported.

The PTI-backed Independent candidate blamed the powers that be for “pressuring the returning officers”, he said, adding, “Today, you are replaying the crime you committed in the past. Now the only hope left is the judiciary.”

According to the results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), PML-N leader Tariq Fazal Chaudhry was declared victorious after scoring 102,502 votes while PTI-backed independent candidate Shoaib Shaheen got 86,396 votes and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, an independent candidate, secured 17,916 votes.

Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, a joint candidate of the PML-N and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), won NA-48 (Islamabad-III) with 69,699 votes while Syed Mohammad Ali Bukhari stood second with 59,851 votes and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar third with 18,572 votes.

The PML-N made a clean sweep after 16 years by grabbing all three seats of the National Assembly in the federal capital.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hungarian President Katalin Novak, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, announced her resignation Saturday following outrage over a pardon granted to a man implicated in a child sexual abuse case.

Soon afterwards another Orban supporter, former justice minister Judit Varga, announced she was withdrawing from public life over the affair.

The announcements followed growing pressure from opposition politicians and protests outside the presidential palace Friday evening.

“I am resigning my post,” said 46-year-old Novak, acknowledging that she had made a mistake.

“I apologise to those who I hurt and all the victims who may have had the impression that I did not support them,” the former minister for family policy added.

“I am, I was and I will remain in favour of protecting children and families.”

Novak became the first woman to hold the essentially ceremonial role of president in March 2022.

The controversy was sparked by the pardon granted to a former deputy director of a children’s home. He had helped to cover up his boss’s sexual abuse of the children in their charge.

The decision was made last April during a visit by Pope Francis to Budapest.

Since the independent news site 444 revealed the decision last week, the country’s opposition had been calling for Novak’s resignation.

On Friday evening demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace and three presidential advisers quit their posts.

Orban must ‘take responsibility’ –

Novak, who had been in Qatar to attend Hungary’s match against Kazakhstan at the World Water Polo Championships on Friday, swiftly returned to Budapest.

As soon as her plane had landed she emerged and announced her resignation.

“The pardon granted and the lack of explanation may have given rise to doubts about zero tolerance of paedophilia,” she said.

“But there can be no doubt on this subject”, she added, before offering her apologies.

Minutes after her announcement, another ally of Orban, Judit Varga, also announced her “withdrawal from public life”.

As justice minister, a post she quit in order to lead a European Parliament election bid, she had approved the pardon.

“I renounce my mandate as an MP and the head of the list for the European Parliament,” she said on Facebook.

“It was quick: first Novak, then Varga,” said Hungarian MEP Anna Donath, reacting to the news.

“But we know that no important decision can be taken in Hungary without Viktor Orban’s approval,” added Donath, a member of the small liberal Momentum party, on Facebook.

“He has to take responsibility and explain what happened… it’s his system”.

In an attempt to calm national anger, Orban had announced on Thursday that he wanted to revise Hungary’s constitution to exclude the possibility of pardoning paedophile criminals.

Novak, who has been temporarily replaced by the Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover, was named last year by Forbes magazine as the most influential woman in Hungarian public life.

Her departure leaves Hungary’s political landscape even more male-dominated. Since mid-2023 there have been no women in Viktor Orban’s 16-man cabinet.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)