The top 10 donors to the BJP collectively contributed Rs 2,123 crore.Following the Supreme Court’s directive, the State Bank of India (SBI) provided all details regarding the electoral bond scheme to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday. This includes the disclosure of unique identifiers associated with each electoral bond, establishing a direct link between the purchaser and the recipient party.
Earlier in the week, the Supreme Court had sternly instructed the SBI to disclose all information regarding the electoral bonds in its possession.
Every electoral bond has a special number linking the buyer and the party cashing it. The details of buyers and parties were revealed on March 14 in two lists. It is the third time that the SBI has revealed the electoral bonds data disclosing the bond numbers making it easier to match donors and receivers.
The SBI said that it has fulfilled all disclosure requirements after submitting the latest dataset.
“It is respectfully submitted that the SBI has now disclosed all details and that no details (other than complete account numbers & KYC details) have been withheld from disclosure in terms of the directions contained in the judgment dated February 15, 2024 read with order dated March 18, 2024 passed by this court,” the SBI affidavit said.
An analysis by India Today revealed that the top 10 donors to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) collectively contributed Rs 2,123 crore, while those supporting Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) donated Rs 1,198 crore. Similarly, contributions to the Congress party amounted to Rs 615 crore from its top 10 donors.
Among BJP’s top donors, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd. donated Rs 584 crore, followed by Qwik Supply Chain Pvt. Ltd. with Rs 375 crore, Vedanta Ltd. with a contribution of Rs 230 crore, Bharti Airtel at Rs 197 crore and Madanlal Ltd. with a donation of Rs 176 crore.
For the Trinamool Congress, Future Gaming & Hotel Services emerged as the largest donor, which contributed Rs 542 crore. Haldia Energy Ltd. followed with a significant donation of Rs 281 crore, while Dhariwal Infrastructure, MKJ Enterprises, and Avees Trading each contributed Rs 90 crore, and Rs 46 crore, respectively.
In the case of the Congress party, Vedanta Ltd. led the pack with a contribution of Rs 125 crore, closely followed by Western UP Power Transmission Company with Rs 110 crore. MKJ Enterprises Ltd. also featured prominently with a donation of Rs 91.6 crore, while Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital and Avees Trading Finance Pvt Ltd contributed Rs 64 crore and Rs 53 crore, respectively.
The Supreme Court’s directive on February 15 mandated the State Bank of India (SBI) to furnish detailed information to the Election Commission of India (ECI), including the timing and identities of bond purchasers, as well as the amounts and timing of cashing by political parties.
However, during a recent hearing led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, questions arose regarding the omission of bond numbers from the disclosed information, prompting queries into the rationale behind this omission.
During the hearing of a petition highlighting the “incomplete data” provided by the SBI on political donations via electoral bonds, CJI Chandrachud said, “We want all information related to the electoral bonds to be disclosed which is in your possession. Every bit of information should come out. All details should come out. We want to ensure that nothing has been suppressed.”
Let SBI not be selective in disclosure, the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasised.
Last month, a five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, deemed the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, citing violations of citizens’ right to information. The court directed the State Bank of India, designated for issuing electoral bonds, to disclose details of each bond encashed by political entities to the Election Commission of India.