The Election Commission of India released data regarding electoral bonds received by political parties on Sunday. According to the figures provided by the Election Commission, the ruling BJP at the Centre received the highest amount of Rs 6,986.5 crore through these bonds, which is the highest among all parties.
Meanwhile, Future Gaming and Hotel Services purchased bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore, as disclosed under the directions of the Supreme Court through data dump by the Election Commission, which includes a total of 523 valid and invalid political parties.
Future Gaming Gives Highest Contribution to DMK
Based on information provided by SBI, last week, the Election Commission uploaded data on its website. Future Gaming and Hotel Services donated Rs 509 crore to Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, DMK, through electoral bonds. The donation given by Future Gaming amounts to more than 77% of the total receipts reported by DMK from bonds worth Rs 656.5 crore.
Electoral Bond: 8 Key Points
1. BJP has received the highest amount of Rs 6,986.5 crore since the implementation of the electoral bond scheme in 2018.
2. Following BJP, Trinamool Congress of West Bengal received Rs 1,397 crore, followed by Congress with Rs 1,334 crore, and Bharatiya Rashtriya Samithi with Rs 1,322 crore.
3. Odisha’s ruling party BJD received Rs 944.5 crore, followed by DMK with Rs 656.5 crore, and Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party YSR Congress with approximately Rs 442.8 crore.
4. According to a report compiled by ADR, a non-governmental organization, electoral bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore were sold from March 2018 to January 2024.
5. The combined data suggests that BJP has received a total of Rs 7,700 crore during the entire duration of the scheme.
6. According to the data released on Sunday, Janata Dal (Secular) received bonds worth Rs 89.75 crore, with Megha Engineering being the second-largest purchaser at Rs 50 crore.
7. Future Gaming Company emerged as the largest purchaser of electoral bonds with Rs 1,368 crore, of which approximately 37% went to DMK.
8. Other parties such as TDP received Rs 181.35 crore, Shiv Sena received Rs 60.4 crore, RJD received Rs 56 crore, and Samajwadi Party received Rs 14.05 crore through electoral bonds.
The figures also reveal that Shiromani Akali Dal received Rs 7.26 crore, AAP didn’t disclose their donation amount, but SBI’s data suggests they received Rs 65.45 crore, with an estimated total donation of Rs 69 crore after the Election Commission’s information.
