The State Bank of India (SBI) announced on March 21 that it shared all details of the Electoral Bond Scheme with the Election Commission of India (ECI), including unique alphanumeric IDs. This move followed an order from the Supreme Court earlier in the week, which directed the SBI to share all information related to electoral bonds indisputably with the ECI.
Each electoral bond carries a unique number. This identifier is crucial in linking the bond's purchaser with the redeeming political party. On March 14, lists of buyers and affiliated parties were widely shared for the third time publicly, making it easier to match donors with recipients and finally releasing bond numbers.
An analysis by Aajtak of electoral bond data indicates that the BJP's top 10 donors collectively contributed Rs. 2,123 crore. Conversely, the Trinamool Congress's main contributors gave Rs. 1,198 crore, and the Congress's key supporters donated Rs. 615 crore.
Source: aajtak
Leading the BJP donor list is Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited, contributing Rs. 584 crore, followed by Quick Supply Chain Private Limited with a donation of Rs. 375 crore. Next, Vedanta Limited donated Rs. 230 crore, Bharti Airtel contributed Rs. 197 crore, and Madanlal Limited offered Rs. 176 crore.
The most significant donation to the Trinamool Congress came from Future Gaming and Hotel Services at Rs. 692 crore, followed by Haldia Energy Limited at Rs. 362 crore, Dhariwal Infrastructure at Rs. 90 crore, with MKJ Enterprises and Avest Trading each donating Rs. 46 crore.
Congress's leading benefactor was MKJ Enterprises Limited with a contribution of Rs. 138 crore, followed by Vedanta Limited's Rs. 125 crore. Western UP Power Transmission Company donated Rs. 110 crore, Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital gave Rs. 64 crore, and Avis Trading Finance Private Limited provided Rs. 53 crore. Meanwhile, the SBI stated that with the new data released, no further information remained on its end regarding the Electoral Bond Scheme.
The Supreme Court had deemed the Electoral Bond Scheme unconstitutional in an order dated February 15. The apex court directed the SBI to share all relevant details with the Election Commission of India, detailing when and who purchased these bonds, their value, and the timelines when political parties encashed them. Initially, the bank had not disclosed the unique IDs of the purchased and encashed bonds. Following directives from Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, the SBI has now issued the unique bond IDs as well.
