EC publishes electoral bonds data on its website

On expected lines, BJP leads the pack with sizeable chunk of donations, but other political parties too ride on Electoral Bonds [View in browser]( [See all newsletters]( 15 March 2024 EC publishes electoral bonds data on its website [New Delhi, 12/04/2019: FOR INDEX: A view of Election Commission of India, in New Delhi on Friday . Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma / The Hindu] Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday published on its website the details of the electoral bond data it received from the State Bank of India (SBI). Data released clearly showed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which has encashed bonds worth ₹6,060 crore from April 12, 2019 to January 11, 2024 – has disproportionately benefitted from the controversial scheme. As a national party Congress came in a distant second with ₹1,422 crore. But Trinamool Congress has encashed bonds worth ₹1,609 crore, higher than Congress. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) tally of encashment stood at ₹1,214 crore and Aam Admi Party got ₹66 crore. Biju Janata Dal is ₹775 crore and DMK is ₹639 crore and AIADMK ₹6.05 crore. Almost every political party is on the list, implying that the confidentiality of the donor and recipient that the electoral bond scheme ensured has been used to the hilt by the political parties concerned. Companies that made the most donations include Future Gaming and Hotel Services (₹1,368 crore); Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (₹966 crore); Qwik Supply Chain (₹410 crore); Vedanta (₹400 crore) and Haldia Energy (₹377 crore). Besides this, Grasim Ltd, Jindal Steel and Power, DLF, Dr Reddy’s were also a purchaser of electoral bonds. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw were also in the list with about ₹6 crore in her individual capacity. Bharti Airtel Group has donated ₹247 crore. Political parties The political parties that encashed the bonds include BJP, Congress, TMC, BJD, DMK, AIADMK, BRS, TDP, Shiv Sena, NCP , JD (S), Shiromani Akali Dal , Samajwadi Party, Bihar Pradesh JD (U). The data bond data disclosed comprised two separate lists — list with names of those political parties who had encashed the electoral bonds and separate list of corporates and individuals who had purchased such bonds. “It may be recalled that in the said matter, ECI has consistently and categorically weighed in favour of disclosure and transparency, a position reflected in the proceedings of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and noted in the order also,” the ECI said in a statement on Thursday evening.  The Poll Panel said that it has uploaded the data on its website as received from SBI on an “as is where is basis” after the Supreme Court’s directions. This latest ECI move came a day after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar had assured that the ECI was committed to transparency and would release the data to the public in ‘due time’. Meanwhile, ECI has moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to secure confidential documents related to the electoral bonds data furnished by State Bank of India. Petition in SC 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 deposited all the details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Poll Panel filed a compliance affidavit in the Supreme Court on Thursday. SBI also revealed that those electoral bonds which were not encashed by the political parties were transferred to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). You Might Also Like [Oil marketing companies cut petrol, diesel prices by ₹2 per litre]( [News]( [Oil marketing companies cut petrol, diesel prices by ₹2 per litre]( [RBI may move some NBFCs to top layer this year]( [Money & Banking]( [RBI may move some NBFCs to top layer this year]( [NPCI grants approval for TPAP licence to One97 Communications]( [Money & Banking]( [NPCI grants approval for TPAP licence to One97 Communications]( [Half of major Indian reservoirs at less than 40% of capacity]( [Agri Business]( [Half of major Indian reservoirs at less than 40% of capacity]( Stay informed Subscribe to businessline to stay up-to-date with in-depth business news from India [arrow]( Copyright @ 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please try [here]( Manage your newsletter subscription preferences [here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails go [here](