Not aware who donated ₹10 crore, JD(U) tells ECI

The poll panel on Sunday made public the sealed disclosures made by political parties about the electoral bonds redeemed by them between March 2018 and November 2023

The Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) told the Election Commission that it was not aware of the identity of the donor or donors that gave electoral bonds worth ₹10 crore to the party, saying that “somebody” handed over a sealed envelope with 10 bonds of ₹1 crore each at its Patna office in April 2019, which it encashed within days.

Janata Dal (United) founder and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. (ANI Photo)

The poll panel on Sunday made public the sealed disclosures made by political parties about the electoral bonds redeemed by them between March 2018 and November 2023. In its reply submitted on May 30, 2019, the Nitish Kumar-led party said that it received donations worth ₹13 crore through electoral bonds. It, however, added that it did not have the details of the donor or donors that gave bonds totalling ₹10 crore.

“Somebody came to our office on 03-04-2019 at Patna and handed over a sealed envelope and when it was opened, we found a bunch containing 10 electoral bonds of ₹1 crore each. Accordingly, as per Gazette Notification of the Govt of India, we opened an account in SBI main branch, Patna and deposited it, which was credited to our party account on 10-04-2019. In view of this situation, we are unable to provide any more details about the donors,” the JD(U) said in its disclosure.