(Image source from: Jansatta.com)
Lottery Martin and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd are at the forefront of contributors to political parties through electoral bonds. The Election Commission of India recently released information on bond buyers and beneficiaries, following a directive from the Supreme Court, prior to the 18th Lok Sabha elections. The data reveals that electoral bonds worth more than Rs 12,000 crore have been issued. The State Bank of India, the exclusive seller of these bonds, provided the information which was then published by the Election Commission.
Other notable donors include the Bharti Group and Vedanta. It is evident from the information that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has received the majority of these funds, a fact that is also evident in the party's annual audit reports. Both Future Gaming and Megha Engineering have faced their fair share of controversy. Future Gaming has come under scrutiny from the Enforcement Directorate, while Megha Engineering has faced criticism for their involvement in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project and the Silkyara tunnel project in Uttarakhand, where workers were trapped for several days last year.
Prominent donors in addition to the aforementioned include Essel Mining (a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group), Haldia Energy of the Goenka group, Jindal Steel, the Mahindra Group, and the Dhariwals. According to analysts, India's largest conglomerates are not mentioned in the data set, but there may be connections to the listed entities. Establishing these connections could be a difficult task. Notable individuals like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, as well as companies like Mardi Gras, Western UP Power Transmission Company, and the Keventers group, have purchased electoral bonds.
Interestingly, many donors on the State Bank of India (SBI) list have previously contributed to political parties through the electoral trust system, where their names were made public. Construction companies such as DLF, Navayuga, and BG Shirke have prominently featured in data submitted by electoral trusts to the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the past.
In terms of political party rankings, the BJP is in the lead, followed by the Trinamool Congress and the Indian National Congress. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Biju Janata Dal, and the DMK are also trailing behind. The electoral bond scheme, introduced by the NDA government in 2017-18, allowed anonymous funding to political parties. However, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional on February 15 and ordered that all data regarding electoral bond donors and beneficiaries should be made public. When the highest court provides the documents to the election committee, it is anticipated that the individuals filing the petition will approach the highest court once more to request that the State Bank of India disclose the data on electoral bonds' 'unique code'. This is to definitively confirm the information regarding the donors and recipients.
