Electoral Bonds 2024: BJP Dominates Donations, TMC Surpasses Congress

Election Commission of India data released on Thursday showed that the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, redeemed electoral bonds of significantly higher value than the Congress. Through the electoral bond mechanism, the Bharatiya Janata Party was the beneficiary of the largest amount of any political party. Although the list of bond buyers included numerous well-known corporations, the largest donation was from a lottery company with headquarters in Tamil Nadu.

Here are the top takeaways from the electoral bonds list.

1. Two papers have been uploaded by the ECI. They claim that 1260 businesses and individuals have purchased 22217 bonds totaling ₹12,155.51 between 2019 and 2024. These bonds have been redeemed by 23 political parties.
2. Bonds worth ₹6061 crore were redeemed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Surprisingly, with bonds valued at ₹1610 crore, the Trinamool Congress ranked second on the list. With ₹1422 crore, the Congress holds the third position.
3. Future Gaming and Hotel Services, situated in Tamil Nadu, made the largest donation during the five years, totaling ₹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.
4. 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.
5. The three companies owned by Sunil Mittal bought bonds totaling ₹246 crore. Lakshmi Niwas Mittal purchased bonds individually for ₹35 crore.
6. According to reports, contributions to the Samajwadi Party and the Congress were made under the names “Adyaksha Samajwadi Party” and “President, All India Congress Committee.”
7. 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.
8. The following companies purchased electoral bonds: Jindal Group, Phillips Carbon Black Limited, CEAT tires, 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.
9. 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.
10. 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. Bonds worth ₹18 crore were purchased by Bajaj Auto, ₹20 crore by Bajaj Finance, ₹36 crore by three IndiGo companies, ₹65 lakh by Spicejet, and ₹20 crore by Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo.

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