Neither Adani nor Ambani in electoral bonds list; 10 biggest donors to political parties are ...
The Election Commission of India has released data on electoral bonds, revealing contributions from various entities to political parties. Major conglomerates like Adani Group and Reliance Industries were notably absent from the list.
FollowNotably absent from the list of political donors put up by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on its website on Thursday evening were major conglomerates such as Adani Group and Reliance Industries. This revelation emerged from the data shared by the State Bank of India with the poll body on the companies and individuals who purchased electoral bonds and contributed to political parties.
The disclosed data revealed several prominent buyers of electoral bonds, including Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, DLF, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, and Lakshmi Niwas Mital, the executive chairman of Arcelor Mittal. Other significant contributors included Grasim Industries, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, DLF Commercial Developers, Vedanta Ltd., Apollo Tyres, Edelweiss, PVR, Keventer, Sula Wine, Welspun, and Sun Pharma.
The top 10 donors to political parties are
1) Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR (Rs 1208 crore)
2) Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (Rs 821 crore)
3) Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited (Rs 410 crore)
4) Haldia Energy Limited (Rs 377 crore)
5) Vedanta Limited (Rs 375.65 crore)
6) Essel Mining and Industries Limited (Rs 224.5 crore)
7) Western UP Power Transmission Company Limited (Rs 220 crore)
8) Keventer Foodpark Infra Limited (Rs 195 crore)
9) Madanlal Limited (Rs 185.5 crore)
10) Bharti Airtel Limited (Rs 183 crore)
The full list of donors can be accessed below:
The disclosed information consisted of two parts: the first part comprised 337 pages detailing the entities purchasing electoral bonds and the dates of purchase, while the second part contained 426 pages outlining the political parties, dates, and amounts of bond redemption. However, specific details about which entity purchased bonds from whom remained undisclosed, including the bond numbers.
Political parties receiving funds through electoral bonds encompassed a wide spectrum, including BJP, Congress, AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JDS, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, and SP.
Introduced as a means for Indian political parties to receive funding or donations, the electoral bond scheme was implemented in 2017-18 but was subsequently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in February. The State Bank of India issued bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore in 30 tranches since the inception of the scheme in 2018.
The Election Commission released the data as provided by the State Bank of India on March 12, following the bank's submission of details on entities that purchased electoral bonds and political parties that redeemed them. This disclosure was mandated by the Supreme Court, which set a deadline of March 15 for the EC to publish the data on its website.
Rejecting the SBI's request for an extension until June 30, the apex court instructed the bank to submit all details to the Election Commission by the end of working hours on Tuesday. The Election Commission emphasized its commitment to transparency and disclosure as it published the data on its site, in compliance with the court's directives.
