The Janata Dal (United) party, under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, reported to the Election Commission that in 2019 a mysterious envelope containing electoral bonds worth ₹10 crores ($1.3 million) was left at its office, which the party promptly cashed in – yet, the donor's identity remains undisclosed. The Election Commission released information about hundreds of sealed envelopes submitted by various political parties on Sunday. The filing by the ruling party of Bihar revealed that they received electoral bonds totaling over ₹24 crores ($3.2 million).
The party informed the Election Commission about receiving ₹1 crore ($130,000) and ₹2 crores ($260,000) worth of electoral bonds from Bharti Airtel and Shree Cement, respectively. In another disclosure, the JD(U) declared donations amounting to ₹24.4 crores ($3.24 million) via electoral bonds. Many of these bonds were issued by the State Bank of India branches located in Hyderabad and Kolkata, with some issued from a Patna-based SBI branch as well.
An Unexpected Envelope Cashes Big for JD(U)
The most intriguing revelation came from the JD(U) office in Patna, stating an anonymous donation of electoral bonds worth ₹10 crores ($1.3 million) on April 3, 2019. The party admitted to having no information on the donor and made no attempts to uncover their identity, as there were no Supreme Court directives to do so at the time. 'Someone visited our Patna office on 03-04-2019 and handed over a sealed envelope. Once opened, it contained 10 electoral bonds valued at ₹1 crore ($130,000) each,' informed JD(U) to the Election Commission.
SP Receives Anonymous Electoral Bonds via Mail
JD(U) explained following government notification, an account was opened at the main SBI branch in Patna to deposit the electoral bonds, which were then credited to their party's fund on 10-04-2019. Given the situation, the party is unable to provide further details about the donors. JD(U) also mentioned funds received via electoral bonds from Shree Cement and Bharti Airtel. The Samajwadi Party disclosed to the Election Commission that it had received 10 bonds through mail, valued at ₹10 crores ($1.3 million), with the donor's details unknown. The party led by Akhilesh Yadav received donations through electoral bonds from entities like SK Traders, San Beverages, AK Traders, KS Traders, BG Traders, and AS Traders.
