Data from the Election Commission of India on Thursday revealed that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) redeemed electoral bonds significantly more valuable than those of the Congress. Out of all the political parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got the largest amount under the electoral bonds scheme. Although several well-known corporations were included among the bond buyers, the largest gift was a lottery company headquartered in Tamil Nadu.
The main conclusions from the list of electoral bonds are as follows:
- The ECI has uploaded two papers. They claim that 1260 businesses and individuals have purchased 22217 bonds, totalling ₹12,155.51 between 2019 and 2024. Twenty-three political parties have redeemed these bonds.
- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) redeemed 6061 crore worth of bonds. Surprisingly, with bonds valued at ₹1610 crore, the Trinamool Congress ranked second. With ₹1422 crore, the Congress holds the third position.
- Future Gaming and Hotel Services, situated in Tamil Nadu, made the largest donation during the five years, totalling ₹1368 crore. Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, situated in Andhra Pradesh, contributed ₹891 crore, Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, Vedanta Limited, and Haldia Energy Limited contributed ₹410 crore, and ₹377 crore.
- Among the well-known individuals who contributed to the parties were steel mogul Lakshmi Mittal, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, DLF, PVR, Birlas, Bajajs, Jindals, Spicejet, IndiGo, and the Goenkas.
- The three companies owned by Sunil Mittal bought bonds totalling ₹246 crore. Lakshmi Niwas Mittal purchased bonds individually for ₹35 crore.
- According to PTI, payments to the Samajwadi Party and the Congress were made under the names “Adyaksha Samajwadi Party” and “President, All India Congress Committee.”
- Of the 22,217 electoral bonds, 22030 were redeemed between April 1, 2019, and February 15, according to information provided by the SBI to the Supreme Court.
- The following companies purchased electoral bonds: Jindal Group, Phillips Carbon Black Limited, CEAT Tyres, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, ITC, Kaypee Enterprises, Cipla, Torrent Power, Bharti Airtel, DLF Commercial Developers, Vedanta Ltd., Apollo Tyres, Edelweiss, PVR, Keventer, Sula Wines, Welspun, Sun Pharma, Vardhman Textiles, and Jindal Group.
- The following political parties received benefits from the scheme: the Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, BJD, Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, JMM, Sikkim Democratic Front, DMK, JD-S, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, and the Congress.
- Electoral bonds were used to make donations by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Varun Gupta, B K Goenka, Jainendra Shah, and an anonymous individual going by Monika’s first name. Bajaj Auto paid 18 crore, Bajaj Finance 20 crore, three IndiGo companies 36 crore, Spicejet 65 lakh, and Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo 20 crore for bonds.