The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released details about the top donors to political parties through electoral bonds, with Future Gaming and Megha Engineering & Infra emerging as the top contributors to MK Stalin-led DMK. According to the data, Future Gaming donated Rs 509 crore while Megha Engineering donated Rs 105 crore to DMK, making the total contribution from electoral bonds to DMK reach Rs 656.5 crore.
In response to the donations received, a representative from JD(U) stated, “We are neither aware about the details of the donors nor did we try to know. Somebody came to our office and handed over a sealed envelope and when it was opened we found a bunch containing 10 electoral bonds of Rs one crore each.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the highest amount of Rs 6,986.5 crore through electoral bonds, while Trinamool Congress (TMC) received Rs 1397 crore, the second-largest recipient after BJP. However, TMC did not disclose the donors of the bonds, citing that they are bearer bonds without any printed details of purchasers.
Other major contributions include Congress redeeming Rs 1334.35 crore, BRS encashing bonds worth Rs 1322 crore, and Odisha’s ruling party, BJD, receiving Rs 944.5 crore through electoral bonds.
Various other parties like JD(S), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Aam Aadmi Party, TDP, Shiv Sena, and RJD also received significant amounts through electoral bonds. However, some parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) among national parties, and the Communist Party of India, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Indian Union Muslim League, and the Kerala Congress among state parties, denied receiving any Electoral Bonds (EBs).
The ECI had initially submitted the data on electoral bonds in sealed covers to the Supreme Court and later made the information public as directed by the court. The data has been uploaded on the ECI website for public access.
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