NI Bureau
#Prominent Companies and Individuals Dominate Contributions, Revealing Varied Political Support.
New Delhi : Recently, the Election Commission (EC) has published data received from the State Bank of India (SBI) pertaining to electoral bonds on its official website. This action was undertaken in adherence to a directive from the Supreme Court, merely a day ahead of the court’s stipulated deadline of March 15. The roster of entities acquiring electoral bonds for political contributions portrays a diverse array of names from the corporate domain. Notably, the most substantial contributor, as indicated by the list released by the Election Commission, is an ostensibly lesser-known lottery company named Future Gaming and Hotel Services. Following closely in terms of contributions is Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), the second-largest donor, renowned for its involvement in significant infrastructure projects such as the Zojila tunnel.
The press communication elucidated, “It is pertinent to recall that in the aforementioned context, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has consistently advocated for disclosure and transparency, a stance underscored in the deliberations of the Honourable Supreme Court and duly noted in its order.”
While it is already public knowledge that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) garnered the highest quantum of donations, exceeding Rs 6,000 crore, followed by the Congress party, the disclosed data solely reveals the monetary value contributed by each entity or individual, without specifying the recipient political party. Most bonds were issued under the names of political parties, with exceptions being donations to the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, made under the monikers ‘President, All India Congress Committee’ and ‘Adyaksha Samajvadi Party’, respectively.
Prominent donors of electoral bonds encompass Future Gaming and Hotel Services, which procured bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore, trailed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, amounting to Rs 966 crore. Future Gaming attracted scrutiny from the Enforcement Directorate in March 2022.
Noteworthy contributors also include prominent figures such as steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, DLF, PVR, Birlas, Bajajs, Jindals, Spicejet, IndiGo, and the Goenkas.
See the top Donar :
As per the data uploaded by the election regulatory body, purchasers of electoral bonds encompassed Spicejet, IndiGo, Grasim Industries, Megha Engineering, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, Bharti Airtel, DLF Commercial Developers, Vedanta Ltd., Apollo Tyres, PVR, Edelweiss, Keventer, Sula Wines, Sun Pharma, Welspun, Vardhman Textiles, Jindal Group, Phillips Carbon Black Limited, ITC, CEAT Tyres, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Kaypee Enterprises, Cipla, and Ultratech Cement.
Individual contributors who channeled donations via electoral bonds included Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Varun Gupta, B K Goenka, Jainendra Shah, and a contributor known only by the first name Monika.
Various organizations also participated, such as Ghaziabad-based Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, multiple entities within the IndiGo conglomerate, Spicejet, Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo, Mumbai-based Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, and Haldia Energy.
Political parties that redeemed electoral bonds are BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena, AIADMK, BRS, DMK, TDP, YSR Congress, JD-S, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, BJD, the Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, JMM, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, Sikkim Democratic Front, and the Jana Sena Party.
According to a previous report by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), electoral bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore were sold between March 2018 and January 2024. The BJP received the lion’s share of contributions through electoral bonds, totaling Rs 6,566 crore or 54.77 per cent, followed by the Congress with Rs 1,123 crore or 9.37 per cent, and the Trinamool Congress with Rs 1,092 crore or 9.11 per cent.
