New Delhi: Future Gaming and Hotel Services (Lottery Martin) and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd are among the top donors to political parties through electoral bonds. The Election Commission of India (ECI) revealed details of bond buyers and beneficiaries since April 2019, in accordance with Supreme Court instructions, ahead of the 18th Lok Sabha elections.
Election Commission Publishes Electoral Bond Data
The data release contains information on electoral bonds valued more than Rs 12,000 crore. The State Bank of India (SBI), the bonds’ sole vendor, submitted the information, which was then Publishes Electoral Bond Data by the ECI.
Other donors include Bharti Group and Vedanta. The data plainly demonstrates that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has received the lion’s share over the years, as evidenced by the party’s own statistics.
Future Gaming and Megha Engineering have b
een involved in some controversies. Future Gaming has been scrutinized by the Enforcement Directorate.
Megha Engineering has come under fire for its involvement in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project and the Silkyara tunnel project in Uttarakhand, where several workers were trapped for days last year.
Other major donors include Essel Mining (an Aditya Birla Group subsidiary), Haldia Energy of the Goenka Group, Jindal Steel, the Mahindra Group, and the Dhariwals.
On March 14,Publishes Electoral Bond Data the Election Commission of India (ECI) made available information Publishes Electoral Bond Data on the acquisition and redemption of electoral bonds by corporations and political parties on its website. On Thursday, the ECI claimed that it has persistently campaigned for disclosure and transparency in this situation, which has been reflected in Supreme Court proceedings and acknowledged in its orders.
The election commission has divided the information into two parts. The first dataset discloses the purchasers’ names as well as the bond denominations, whereas the second dataset shows the political parties and the bond denominations they have encashed.
Who owns Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd ?
Donated around 410 crore through electoral bonds ! pic.twitter.com/qk5MRvhNvT
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) March 14, 2024
The State Bank of India had Publishes Electoral Bond Data a compliance affidavit to the Supreme Court, stating that it has furnished the Election Commission of India with full information regarding the electoral bonds scheme. This information includes the purchase date, purchaser identities, and bond denominations.
Electoral bonds have been the subject of much debate and scrutiny, as they allow people and companies to anonymously contribute funding to political parties.
Previously, the Supreme Court directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide comprehensive data to the Election Commission in order to promote openness and accountability in political finance. Along with purchaser information, SBI has provided the EC with information on the timing of electoral bond encashment as well as the identities of the recipient political parties. This effort aims to increase openness in political donations by ensuring that money are correctly identified and recorded.
Some of India’s major companies are not mentioned in the data set, but analysts believe the entities identified have ties to them. They added that establishing these linkages may be difficult.
Individuals such as Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw purchased electoral bonds with liquor wholesaler Mardi Gras, the Western UP Power Transmission Company, and the Keventers company.
Several donors on the SBI list have also made frequent contributions to Politica.
After the BJP, the Trinamool Congress and the Indian National Congress are far behind, followed by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Biju Janata Dal, and the DMK.
also read about sbi electoral bond data and sc conflict
The electoral bond plan, announced by the NDA government in 2017-18, enabled anonymous donations to political parties but was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court on February 15. Publishes Electoral Bond Data The Supreme Court ordered that all data on electoral bond donors and beneficiaries be made public.
More data on electoral bonds, as provided by political parties to Publishes Electoral Bond Data the ECI, is expected to be disclosed soon once the Supreme Court releases the records to the poll panel. The ECI has moved.