Electoral Bond Disclosures: EC Unveils Funding Details – Top 10 Insights
The BJP secured the highest amount of funds via electoral bonds, totaling ₹6,986.5 crore, whereas Future Gaming and Hotel Services contributed ₹509 crore to the DMK.
On Sunday, the Election Commission of India disclosed information provided by political parties regarding electoral bonds, which had been submitted to the Supreme Court in sealed envelopes as per the court’s instruction to make them accessible to the public. These records are presumed to relate to transactions occurring prior to April 12, 2019.
According to the election commission’s data, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre emerged as the largest beneficiary of electoral bonds, accumulating a total of ₹6,986.5 crore since their inception in 2018. Concurrently, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, identified as the primary purchaser of electoral bonds, contributed ₹509 crore to the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), via the now-abolished payment method.
The release of this information is included in the comprehensive dataset concerning a total of 523 recognized and non-recognized political parties, which was made publicly available by the Election Commission in compliance with the directives of the Supreme Court. This action followed the publication of another dataset by the poll panel last week, derived from the details provided by the State Bank of India (SBI), the exclusive bank authorized to issue and redeem electoral bonds.
Electoral bonds: Key points from election panel’s data
- Future Gaming, associated with Santiago Martin and currently under scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate, accounted for more than 77 percent of the total electoral bond receipts of ₹656.5 crore disclosed by the DMK.
- The recipients of the remaining ₹859 crore in bonds acquired by Future Gaming remain undisclosed, primarily due to incomplete donor details provided by the majority of political parties.
- Since the inception of electoral bonds in 2018, the BJP has amassed the highest amount of funds, totaling ₹6,986.5 crore.
- As per the most recent data from the poll commission, the Trinamool Congress of West Bengal ranks second with ₹1,397 crore, followed by the Congress with ₹1,334 crore, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi with ₹1,322 crore.
- The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha holds the fifth position, having garnered ₹944.5 crore, followed by the DMK at ₹656.5 crore, and the YSR Congress of Andhra Pradesh at almost ₹442.8 crore.
- The Samajwadi Party, led by Akhilesh Yadav, revealed a total of ₹10.84 crore in donations, which includes 10 bonds valued at ₹10 crore received anonymously through postal delivery.
- Although the DMK has disclosed donor identities, prominent parties like the BJP, Congress, and TMC have not provided complete information to the EC, which has now been made public following a Supreme Court directive.
- The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) redeemed bonds worth ₹181.35 crore, Shiv Sena ₹130.38 crore, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) ₹56 crore, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ₹50.51 crore, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha ₹15.5 crore, Samajwadi Party (SP) ₹14.05 crore, Akali Dal ₹7.26 crore, AIADMK ₹6.05 crore, National Conference (NC) received ₹50 lakh from the Bharti Group, and Sikkim Democratic Front also received ₹50 lakh.
- While the AAP did not furnish a combined donation amount, records from SBI indicate receipts totaling ₹65.45 crore. With an additional ₹3.55 crore reported after filing with the EC, the AAP’s total proceeds amount to ₹69 crore.
- The most recent dataset unveiled by the EC comprises scanned copies of disclosures submitted by political parties, encompassing numerous pages.
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