ECI makes electoral bond details public after SC order, Future Gaming, Megha Engineering top two donors

Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and little-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services have emerged as the top two donors in the electoral bond data published by the Election Commission of India.

The ECI uploaded on its website, the electoral bond data late on Thursday, submitted by the State Bank of India after the top court’s order. The Supreme Court had asked ECI to upload the data by 5 pm, March 15.

"It may be recalled that in the said matter, ECI has consistently and categorically weighed in favor of disclosure and transparency, a position reflected in the proceedings of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and noted in the order also," the ECI said in a statement released on Thursday.

According to the data, Future Gaming and Hotel Services has emerged as a significant buyer with electoral bonds worth over Rs 1,350 crore. The company is currently under scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate.

Meanwhile, the second highest buyer, Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering, which has bagged contracts for several large infrastructure projects, including the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project and Silkyara tunnel project in Uttarakhand where several workers were trapped for days last year bought bonds worth Rs 966 crore. 

SBI, the sole seller of the bonds, has shared two separate lists of data, one is of electoral bond purchasers and amounts of bonds purchased and another of political parties who received them.

The data published provides details of electoral bonds worth over Rs 12,000 crore. Some of the prominent donors include Essel Mining (an arm of the Aditya Birla Group), Haldia Energy of the Goenka group, Jindal Steel, the Mahindra Group and the Dhariwals.

Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd bought Rs 398 crore worth of bonds, while Sunil Mittal's three companies together purchased a total of Rs 246 crore worth of bonds.

Business tycoon, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal bought worth of bonds in his individual capacity. Other prominent buyers of electoral bonds include Spicejet, IndiGo, Grasim Industries, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, Bharti Airtel, DLF Commercial Developers, Apollo Tyres, Edelweiss, PVR, Keventer, Sula Wines, Welspun, Sun Pharma, Vardhman Textiles, Jindal Group.

Phillips Carbon Black Limited, CEAT Tyres, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, ITC, Kaypee Enterprises, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki India, Hero MotorCorp, Ultratech Cement, IFB Agro Industries, and several Bajaj entities are some of the others who are named on the list.

Meanwhile, the parties that redeemed electoral bonds include the BJP, Congress, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, Forward Party, AIADMK, YSR Congress, DMK, JD-S, NCP, BJD Goa, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, the Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, JMM, Sikkim Democratic Front, and the Jana Sena Party.

The electoral bond scheme was announced by the NDA government in 2017-18, which allowed anonymous funding to political parties. In an unprecedented judgement, the SC struck down the scheme last month on February 15, terming it unconstitutional and ordered the bank that all data of electoral bond donors and beneficiaries should be made public.

Follow the link for electoral bond details: https://www.eci.gov.in/disclosure-of-electoral-bonds.