The Election Commission on Sunday unveiled fresh details regarding political party funding through the now-defunct electoral bonds programme, which it had earlier submitted confidentially to the Supreme Court.
After the physical copies were returned by the Supreme Court’s registry, the Election Commission made the information available on its website. The updated data includes issuance dates, fund denominations, bond numbers, and issuing SBI branches, as well as receipt and crediting dates in party accounts. However, it lacks electoral bond numbers that identify donors, although some parties voluntarily disclosed donor information.
According to the disclosed data, the BJP topped the list with Rs 6,986.5 crore, followed by Trinamool Congress (Rs 1,397 crore), Congress (Rs 1,334 crore), and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Rs 1,322 crore). BJD, DMK, and YSR Congress were also significant recipients.
JD(S) received Rs 89.75 crore, including a substantial contribution from Megha Engineering. Earlier revelations indicated Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd as a major purchaser, with DMK receiving a significant portion of its donations from this entity.
The Election Commission’s release of this data follows its plea to the Supreme Court to modify its earlier order, wherein the court had reprimanded SBI for non-disclosure of electoral bond numbers. The Commission had already published SBI-shared electoral bond data on its website, revealing purchases and encashments without specifying amounts received from individual donors.
This disclosure coincides with the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates, scheduled from April 19 to June 1, with results due on June 4.