The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday published on its website the details of the electoral bond data it received from State Bank of India.

The data clearly show that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—which has encashed bonds worth ₹6,060 crore from April 12, 2019 to January 24, 2024— benefited most from the controversial scheme.

Cong distant third

As a national party Congress came in a distant third with ₹1,422 crore, behind Trinamool Congress that has encashed bonds worth ₹1,609 crore.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) tally of encashment stood at ₹1,214 crore and the Aam Aadmi Party got ₹66 crore. The Biju Janata Dal got ₹775 crore, the DMK ₹639 crore and the AIADMK ₹6.05 crore.

Almost every party is on the list, implying that the confidentiality of the donor and recipient that the electoral bond scheme ensured was used to the hilt by all political parties. The Communist parties are a notable exception. They do not figure in the list of beneficiaries.

TOP DONORS

Companies that made the most donations include Future Gaming and Hotel Services (₹1,368 crore), owned by lottery king Santiago Martin; Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (₹966 crore); Qwik Supply Chain (₹410 crore); Vedanta (₹400 crore) and Haldia Energy (₹377 crore). Grasim Ltd, Jindal Steel and Power, DLF, and Dr Reddy’s were also purchasers of electoral bonds. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw also appears on the list with about ₹6 crore in her individual capacity. The Bharti Airtel Group has donated ₹247 crore. None of the known Adani or Ambani public companies figure in the list of donors.

Political parties that have encashed the bonds include the BJP, the Congress, the TMC, the BJD, the DMK, the AIADMK, the BRS, the TDP, the Shiv Sena, the NCP, the JD(S), the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the Bihar Pradesh JD (U).

DATA IN TWO LISTS

The bond data disclosed comprised two lists — one naming political parties that had encashed the electoral bonds, and the other of corporates and individuals who had purchased such bonds.

In a statement on Thursday, the ECI said: “It may be recalled that the ECI has consistently and categorically weighed in favour of disclosure and transparency, a position reflected in the proceedings of the Supreme Court and noted in the order also.”

The ECI said that it has uploaded the data on its website as received from SBI on “as is where is basis”, per the Supreme Court’s directions.

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This ECI move comes a day after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar had said that the ECI was committed to transparency and would release the data to the public in ‘due time’.

Simultaneously, the ECI has moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to secure confidential documents related to the electoral bonds data furnished by the SBI.

COMPLIANCE AFFIDAVIT

The petition in the top court comes after the poll-regulating body published the data as received from the SBI in two parts on Thursday evening.

A day after SBI submitted all the details of electoral bonds to the ECI, the poll panel filed a compliance affidavit in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

SBI also revealed that the electoral bonds that were not encashed were transferred to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

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