What are electoral bonds?
Electoral bonds are like special certificates that people or groups can buy to support their favourite political party. The State Bank of India (SBI) issued these bonds. People could purchase them and give them to political parties.
The bonds did not have the buyer's name or other important details, so the donation was kept secret. You can learn more about electoral bonds here.
However, electoral bonds have caused some issues. People filed complaints against them in the Supreme Court (SC) of India. The SC ruled that electoral bonds violate the country's Constitution and instructed the SBI to stop selling them. The SBI was also told to provide all information about the bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI) by 6th March 2024.
The ECI was told to put the details on its website by 13th March 2024.
When was the data released?
In March, the SBI asked the SC if they could submit the information by June 2024. But the SC said no because people need to know this important stuff before they vote. The bank was asked to give all the information by 12th March 2024, and the ECI had to share it by 15th March 2024.
Now, after the SBI gave all the information, the ECI shared it on their website for everyone to see.
What does the data show?
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the most money from the electoral bonds scheme, getting Rs 6060.5. Next are the All India Trinamool Congress (Rs 1,609.53 crore) and the Congress party (Rs 1,421.87 crore).
In the last five years, 24 political parties received Rs 12,769 crore in electoral bond donations. The full list is available here.
Who were the highest donors through electoral bonds?
The top three donors through the electoral bond scheme were Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd, and Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd.
Now that the data is out, people can see where political parties get their funding. This helps clarify things and lets people make informed decisions before the upcoming elections.
