The Election Commission publicly disclosed new information on electoral bonds on Sunday. The data reveal the funding sources for political parties, including company or individual donors. Most parties, however, did not disclose donor names. Some parties made rather unusual claims. For instance, JDU mentioned receiving an envelope with bonds worth 10 crores at their office. SP similarly stated that they received bonds worth 10 crores through the mail, sender unknown. DMK received 77% of its total donations from just one company.
The data provided to the Election Commission by political parties covers the period from when the scheme started in 2018 until November 2023. According to the figures, the BJP received the highest amount through bonds, amassing 6,986.5 crores. Following BJP, the ruling party in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress, received 1,397 crores, Congress 1,334 crores, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi 1,322 crores.
SP revealed receiving seven electoral bonds each worth one lakh from SK Traders, Gurgaon. Likewise, they got three bonds worth ten lakh each from Sain Beverages Pvt Ltd, one lakh from SK Trading Company, Delhi, a ten lakh bond from AK Traders, Delhi, one bond worth ten lakh from KS Traders, Mohan Nagar, and seven one-lakh bonds from BS Traders, Jaipur. AS Traders, Delhi contributed five bonds of one lakh each, and BG Traders, Faridabad provided five bonds of the same denomination.
JDU's account tells another intriguing story. They claim an anonymous individual handed them an envelope filled with electoral bonds totalling 10 crores. The envelope, received on April 3, 2019, when opened, contained ten bonds of one crore each. JDU deposited these bonds in a newly opened account at the State Bank of India's main branch in Patna. The party also disclosed that Shree Cement supplied them with two one-crore bonds and that Bharti Airtel had also donated a one-crore electoral bond.
JDU disclosed a total contribution of more than 24 crores through electoral bonds. Many of these bonds were issued by SBI branches in Hyderabad and Kolkata, and some from the Patna branch as well.
DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, secured 665.5 crores through electoral bonds. A whopping 77% of that, amounting to 509 crores, came from the lottery king Santiago Martin's Future Gaming. According to the Election Commission, Future Gaming purchased the most electoral bonds worth 1,368 crores, of which 37% were encashed by DMK. Other contributors to DMK include Megha Engineering with 105 crores, India Cements with 14 crores, and Sun TV with 100 crores.
The BJP appears to be the top recipient of funds with donations amounting to 6986.5 crores across India from April 2018 to 2023. There have been occasions when the party received more than one billion rupees in a single day through electoral bonds. Following BJP, TMC, Congress, and BRS are the other top funding recipients.
The new data includes information on the issue dates of the bonds, the denomination of funds, number of bonds, and the issuing branches of the State Bank of India (SBI). It also encompasses the receipt and credit dates in the political parties' bank accounts.
