The Election Commission of India (ECI) released detailed data on electoral bonds before 2024 Lok Sabha Election
Electoral Bonds: Before the 2024 national election of India, The Election Commission of India (ECI) had released in public notice the detailed data of electoral bonds of various parties and their respective donors. The ECI had uploaded two separate lists on its website – one of it contained the names of donors who purchased the bonds along with the dates and denominations of each transaction, and the other showed the political parties that encashed the bonds, where the data pertains to the period between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, during which a total of 22,217 electoral bonds were purchased as per official records of the Election Commission website. As per the report, among the major corporate donors, Future Gaming, and Megha Engineering had the top donor list of the electoral bonds where BJP the current government had got more than 50% per cent of the funding as it received Rs. 6,566 crore.
Electoral Bond
Election Commission of India (ECI) Data:
The table presents the prominent corporate contributors and the amounts they’ve contributed in crore Rupees.
| Corporate Contributor | Contribution (in crore Rs.) |
|---|---|
| Vedanta Limited | 400 |
| Bharti Group | 247 |
| Essel Mining and Industries Limited | 224 |
| DLF Group | 170 |
| Haldia Energy | 377 |
| Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited | 410 |
| Keventer Foodpark Infra Limited | 194 |
Among the major corporate donors, two companies named Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited are the most prominent of all donors where as per past news Future Gaming is currently under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), emerged as the top purchaser of electoral bonds, with total purchases of Rs. 1,368 crores, leading to multiple speculation of political manipulation of funding or legal extortion by his present government. The second-largest donor was Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited, a Hyderabad-based company that has bagged several major government contracts in recent years where for it they bought electoral bonds worth Rs. 966 crores in favour of the present government. Among the published data, the prominent name Lakshmi Niwas Mittal purchased bonds worth Rs. 35 crore, while Sunil Bharti Mittal’s three companies together bought bonds amounting to Rs. 246 crore, which they are accused of political favours of all parties of state and national capacities. On the other hand, the present national party BJP is emerged as the single-largest recipient of donations through electoral bonds, whereas per the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the BJP received Rs. 6,566 crore or 54.77% of the total electoral bonds encashed between March 2018 and January 2024, where following the steps, the Indian National Congress was a second largest benefactor with Rs. 1,123 crore (9.37%), followed by the Trinamool Congress with Rs. 1,092 crore (9.11%). Other major national and regional parties that received significant contributions through electoral bonds include the Shiv Sena, AIADMK, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JD(S), NCP, BJD, Samajwadi Party, and AAP.
Where did electoral bond data come from?
The Election Commission of India (ECI) uploaded all data on its website, sourced in digitised form from the Supreme Court registry.
Who is the biggest beneficiary of the Electoral Bonds scheme?
BJP is the biggest beneficiary of the Electoral Bonds scheme as it received Rs. 6,566 crore or 54.77% of the total electoral bonds encashed between March 2018 and January 2024.
