Achi news desk-
GUWAHATI: The State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday disclosed comprehensive election bond data, spurred by pressure from the Supreme Court.
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The data, disclosed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) after SBI filed its compliance affidavit as per a court order, provides complex insights into the controversial bond scheme, which the court found unconstitutional and void on February 15.
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According to the data reviewed, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerges as the main beneficiary, with the top 10 donors out of 487 contributing $2,119 million, accounting for 35 percent of the party’s 102 crore electoral bonds of $6,06 since April. .
The figures reveal that No. 1 donor Future Games and Hotel Services Limited funded the BJP to the tune of just ₹100 million; three-quarters of its ₹1,368 crore haul was split almost equally between the Trinamool Congress (542 crore) and the DMK (503 crore ).
No. 2 donor Mega Group emerged as the top donor for both the BJP and the Congress. Of the 1,192 crores of bonds purchased by the group, the BJP got almost half at $584 million. This was more than five times that of the Congress ($110 million).
Four companies from the Kolkata-based MKJ Group bought bonds worth Rs 617 crore – together they are the third largest contributors. The BJP received $372 million, more than half of the total bond purchases by the group, which includes Madanlal Ltd, Keventer Food Park Infra Ltd , and Social Infrastructure.
The Congress got ₹ 161 crore, and the Trinamool ₹ 47 crore.
Eight RPSG companies bought bonds worth ₹584 crore, making it the fourth-highest contributor. The group’s top four contributing companies – Haldia Energy ($377 million), Dhariwal Infrastructure ($115 million), Phillips Carbon ($35 million) and Crescent Power ($34 million) together purchased bonds for 561 million rupees. Of this, the Trinamool received £419 million, the BJP $126 million and the Congress £15 million.
Aditya Birla Group is the fifth largest donor overall with a total bond purchase value of ₹553 crore. The group’s top three contributing companies – Essel Mining ($225 million), Utkal Alumina International ($145 million) and Birla Carbon ($105 million dollars) constituted bonds worth 475 million dollars. Out of this, $245 million to BJD and $230 million to BJP.
Next on the list is Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, an associate company of Reliance Industries Ltd, which has spent ₹410 crore on bonds. Of this, the BJP has received ₹375 crore and the Sena has returned ₹25 crore.
Vedanta Limited, the seventh-largest bond buyer, issued £401 million. The BJP is the top beneficiary with ₹227 crore while the Congress and the BJD got ₹125 crore and ₹40 crore, respectively.
Four Bharti Group companies purchased bonds worth £247 million. Of this, the BJP received $197 million. The group’s top donor, Bharti Airtel Limited, spent ₹183 crore on bonds.
Four Jindal companies contributed $192 million in bonds. Jindal Steel and Power, the largest buyer, issued 123 crore. The BJD got the lion’s share of 100 crore, while the Congress and the BJP got bonds worth 20 crore and -3 crore respectively.
Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group, the tenth largest donor, contributed 184 million pounds through three companies. Of this, the BJP got ₹107 crore, while the Congress and the AAP got ₹17 crore and ₹7 crore, respectively. The biggest contributor – Torrent Power Ltd – spent 107 crore.
The disclosed data includes purchase and redemption of electoral bonds, shedding light on transactions totaling Rs 12,145.88 crore, as confirmed by unique alphanumeric codes linking donors to recipients.
