The Trinamool Congress and JD(U) provided bizarre explanations in their electoral bond disclosures for 2018-19. They claimed that unidentified individuals had delivered sealed envelopes to their respective offices in Kolkata and Patna, leaving them unaware of the donors’ identities. The Election Commission on Sunday made fresh electoral bonds data public for the period prior to 2019.
While JD(U) revealed the identities of donors contributing Rs 3 crore out of the total Rs 13 crore received in April 2019, the TMC did not disclose the identities of donors who collectively contributed nearly Rs 75 crore through electoral bonds between July 16, 2018, and May 22, 2019.
The TMC stated in its submission to the Election Commission on May 27, 2019, that most of these bonds were sent to their office anonymously, either dropped in a drop box or delivered by messengers, making it impossible for them to ascertain the names and details of the buyers. Similarly, JD(U) stated in its submission on May 30, 2019, that someone had delivered a sealed envelope containing 10 electoral bonds of Rs 1 crore each to their office in Patna on April 3, 2019.JD(U) reiterated that they had no knowledge of the donors’ details, emphasizing that they were unaware due to the absence of the Supreme Court order at the time of bond receipt, with only the government’s gazette notification being in effect.
TMC suggested that identities could be established using the unique numbers assigned to electoral bonds issued by the State Bank of India. They indicated that SBI, as the sole issuer of these bonds, possessed all necessary details of the bondholders, including their KYC documents, PAN card, identity proof, address proof, and other supporting documents as per the bank’s requirements.
EC makes fresh electoral bonds data publicThe Election Commission (EC) on Sunday information on electoral bonds on Sunday, which was previously submitted in sealed envelopes to the Supreme Court and later mandated to be made public. These details cover the period preceding April 12, 2019. In accordance with the Supreme Court’s interim order from April 12, 2019, political parties had submitted data on Electoral Bonds in sealed envelopes, as stated by the poll panel in a statement.Initially, the State Bank of India (SBI) had provided data spanning from April 12, 2019, until the cancellation of the bonds by the apex court last month. However, the recent disclosure is based on declarations made by various political parties in November last year regarding the bonds they redeemed since the scheme’s launch in early 2018, excluding the final few tranches.According to the latest data shared by the EC, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the highest funds through these bonds, totaling Rs 6,986.5 crore since their launch in 2018, followed by West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress (Rs 1,397 crore), Congress (Rs 1,334 crore), and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Rs 1,322 crore).
Odisha’s ruling party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ranked fifth, receiving Rs 944.5 crore, followed by the DMK at Rs 656.5 crore and Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party YSR Congress at nearly Rs 442.8 crore.
The latest data release reveals that the Janata Dal (Secular) obtained bonds worth Rs 89.75 crore, including Rs 50 crore from Megha Engineering, the second-largest buyer of electoral bonds. Future Gaming emerged as the largest purchaser of electoral bonds, acquiring Rs 1,368 crore worth, with almost 37 percent directed to the DMK. (With TOI inputs)