Electoral bonds: ‘Lottery king’ top donor for Opposition, BJP got most from this firm

Reliance-linked Qwik Supply Chain contributed ₹375 crore to BJP.

Updated on: Mar 21, 2024, 23:22:52 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Election Commission of India complied with a Supreme Court order on Thursday by releasing detailed electoral bond data submitted by the State Bank of India. This new data, featuring alpha-numeric codes, allows for tracing purchasers of the bonds to the political parties that encashed them.

Most of the electoral bonds have been donated to the BJP and the Congress. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

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Electoral bonds new data | 10 key takeaways from

1. Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited donated electoral bonds worth ₹670 crores to the BJP since April 2019.

2. Qwik Supply Chain, an affiliate of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance group, contributed ₹375 to the BJP through electoral bonds. Reliance Industries spokesperson had earlier said, "Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity."

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3. Madanlal Group, including MKJ Enterprises and Keventer, donated ₹393 crore to the BJP during the same period.

4. Vedanta gave ₹254 crore and Airtel made ₹210 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds.

5. For Congress, Madanlal Group companies donated ₹172 crore, followed by ₹137 crore from Megha Engineering and its affiliate, and ₹125 crore from Vedanta.

6. 'Lottery king' Santiago Martin Future Gaming and Hotel Services donated at least ₹500 crore each to regional parties Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Martin's company also donated ₹100 crore to the BJP and ₹50 crore to Congress.

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7. Monica, listed with only one name, donated ₹5 lakh through electoral bonds to the Congress, according to Election Commission data.

8. Pharmaceutical companies Piramal Capital and Sun Pharma donated to the BJP, while Torrent Pharmaceutical Limited donated to BJP, AAP, and Congress, and Natco Pharma gave to BJP, TDP, TMC, and BRS.

9. Industrialist Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw donated to the BJP, TMC, and Congress.

10. Rungta Sons Private Limited donated to Congress, BJP, TMC, and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.

Compiled from Bloomberg, PTI and Reuters

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