Electoral Bonds Donations: Revealing Contributions to Political Parties and Their Biggest Beneficiaries, BJP receives bonds worth Rs.6,060 crore
The most substantial portion of electoral bond donations to the BJP came from Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), as per the recent disclosures by the Election Commission. From April 2019 to January 2024, the company contributed a significant sum of ₹584 crore to the ruling party. Previous data from the EC indicated that MEIL, a Hyderabad-based infrastructure firm, ranked as the second-largest donor of electoral bonds nationwide. The BJP has received over half of the total contributions made by the company through electoral bonds.
Following Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, Qwik Supply Chain Private Ltd emerges as the next significant donor, contributing ₹375 crore to the party. Other notable donors to the BJP include Vedanta Limited with ₹226.65 crore and Bharti Airtel with ₹197 crore in donations. The data further indicates that the party has received electoral bonds from at least 524 donors, comprising both companies and individuals. MEIL leads the list of donors to the BJP with a contribution of ₹584 crore, trailed by Qwik Supply Chain and Vedanta Ltd.
Qwik Supply Chain, associated with Reliance, allocated the remainder of its donations to two Maharashtra-based parties: ₹25 crore to Shiv Sena and ₹10 crore to the Nationalist Congress Party.
List of Electoral Bonds Donation’s to Political Parties
Revelation of substantial electoral bonds donations, largely favoring the BJP, has sparked discussions regarding the importance of transparency, fairness, and integrity in politics.
Among the notable donors in the country, several have contributed funds to the BJP on various occasions. Notably, affluent individuals have also made contributions, including Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, the Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal, who holds the record for the highest expenditure on purchasing electoral bonds. Recently, on January 24, 2024, the BJP encashed bonds worth ₹7 crore, as per available data.
Although the document released by the EC on Thursday night does not provide a complete dataset, it suggests that there are donations that remain unaccounted for across multiple parties.
Future Gaming & Hotel Services, led by Santiago Martin, stands out as the most significant donor nationwide, channeling funds via electoral bonds to almost all political parties. While allocating ₹100 crore to the BJP, it emerged as the top contributor to the All India Trinamool Congress with a hefty sum of ₹542 crore. Notably, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a probe against the company in 2022 for its involvement in a lottery scam based on cases registered by the Kolkata Police. AITC ranks as the third-largest recipient of electoral bonds in the country.
The YSR Congress Party, currently in power in Andhra Pradesh, also received a substantial portion of its bond donations from Future Gaming, totaling ₹159 crore. Additionally, the company donated ₹50 crore to the Congress. Previous reports by businessline indicated that it contributed ₹509 crore via electoral bonds to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress’ largest donor through the bond route was Vedanta, with a contribution of ₹125 crore. The party also received substantial amounts from UP Power and Transmission, MKJ Enterprises Ltd, and Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital.
Notably, headquartered in Hyderabad, MEIL emerged as the primary donor to K Chandrashekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which governed Telangana between 2014 and 2023.
Several prominent Indian companies are among the purchasers of electoral bonds. Notably, Indian magnate Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, the UK-based executive chairman of multinational steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal, bought bonds worth Rs. 35 crore. Other individuals who donated through electoral bonds include Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Varun Gupta, B.K. Goenka, Jainendra Shah, and an individual known only as Monika.
Furthermore, various companies, such as SpiceJet, IndiGo, Grasim Industries, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, Bharti Airtel, and DLF Commercial Developers, among others, have also purchased electoral bonds. Noteworthy mentions include Ghaziabad-based Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital, which acquired 162 bonds, predominantly valued at Rs. 1 crore each. Additionally, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, three IndiGo firms, SpiceJet, Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo, Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, and Haldia Energy are among the notable purchasers of electoral bonds, collectively amounting to significant sums.
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