The most recent disclosure of data on electoral bonds sheds light on significant financial contributions made to various political parties, with Megha Engineering & Infrastructures emerging as the top donor, providing a substantial sum of Rs 600 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This contribution stands as the largest single donation through the electoral bond mechanism. Following closely behind Megha Engineering, Qwik Supply Chain Management Ltd contributed Rs 375 crore, while the Vedanta Group and the Bharti Group provided Rs 236 crore and Rs 230 crore respectively. These revelations stem from an analysis of data provided by the State Bank of India (SBI) on electoral bonds, as mandated by the Supreme Court. The bank furnished this information to the Election Commission of India (ECI), which subsequently made the data available on its website.
In contrast, the Congress party received its most substantial donations from the Vedanta Group, amounting to Rs 125 crore, followed by Western UP Power Transmission Co (Rs 110 crore) and MKJ Enterprises (Rs 69 crore). The Yashoda Hospital Group also made a notable contribution of Rs 64 crore to the Congress.
The data also highlights the dominance of the BJP in terms of electoral bond receipts, having amassed a total of Rs 6,061 crore since April 2019, making it the primary beneficiary of the electoral bond scheme. Trailing behind the BJP are the Trinamool Congress, with receipts totaling Rs 1,610 crore, and the Congress, which garnered Rs 1,422 crore.
Furthermore, the Future Gaming Group emerged as the most significant purchaser of electoral bonds, acquiring bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore. Notably, Santiago Martin, dubbed the "Lottery King," made substantial contributions to political parties through his firm, Future Gaming. Additionally, notable individual donors include Lakshmi Niwas Mittal of the ArcelorMittal Group, who purchased bonds worth Rs 35 crore, as well as Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon, and Rajesh Agarwal of the Ajanta Pharma Group.
SBI, serving as the sole seller of electoral bonds, shared comprehensive lists of bond purchases and redemptions with the Election Commission in compliance with the Supreme Court's directives. The court had declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional and mandated SBI to disclose all purchase and redemption details by March 6. Despite a request for an extension of the deadline to June 30, SBI fulfilled the requirements, marking the third instance of electoral bond data being made public following court orders.