EC Releases Fresh Data on Funding To Political Parties Through Electoral Bonds

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday released fresh data on electoral bonds received from political parties, covering transactions before April 12, 2019.

This information, previously submitted to the Supreme Court in sealed covers, has now been made available to the public on the EC’s official website. Notably, these details were released following the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates, scheduled in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.

The released documents provide raw data including bond dates, denominations, issuing SBI branches, receipt and credit dates, but do not include unique bond numbers. The Trinamool Congress has requested unique bond numbers from SBI to comply with Supreme Court directives, while the BJP has only provided raw data.

Some parties, such as Mayawati’s BSP and the CPI(M), claim to have received no donations via electoral bonds. Conversely, the Congress intends to release raw data provided by SBI, with its Goa unit disclosing a donation of ₹30 lakh from VM Salgaocar.

Certain state units, like the BJP Tripura unit and the NCP’s West Bengal unit, state they haven’t received any donations through electoral bonds. On the other hand, the TRS (now BRS) received ₹230.65 crore in bonds from 2018 to 2019. Additionally, Karnataka’s JD(S) listed Embassy Group, Infosys, and Biocon among its donors.

In a significant verdict last month, the Supreme Court declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional, citing violations of citizens’ right to information.