New Delhi- On Sunday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) uploaded new data concerning the funding of political parties in India via electoral bonds. This latest data is based on the information submitted by political parties to the Supreme Court of India in sealed covers following the interim order issued on April 12, 2019. It is presumed to cover the period leading up to the date of the interim order.

The ECI announced that the data received from political parties was submitted to the Supreme Court without the sealed covers being opened. Following the Supreme Court's order on March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court Registry returned physical copies of the data along with a digitized record stored on a pen drive, all within sealed covers.

Subsequently, the ECI has uploaded this digitized data, received from the Supreme Court's registry, pertaining to electoral bonds onto its website.

The fresh data provides information on the donations received by the political parties through electoral bonds before April 12, 2019. It includes funding details of all political parties including national, state, and unrecognized political parties.

According to the second list of electoral bonds data, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the top recipient of donations during the financial year 2019-20. The BJP received a total of ₹6,986.5 crore in donations through electoral bonds, with the highest amount of ₹2,555 crore received during the said financial year, as per the Election Commission data.

In contrast, several political parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), reported no donations through electoral bonds until at least April 12, 2019. Notably, CPI(M) has publicly declared its refusal to accept donations through the electoral bonds scheme.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress received Rs 1,397 crore through electoral bonds and it is the second largest recipient after BJP. Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334.35 crore through electoral bonds, while BJD encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 944.5 crore, YSR Congress Rs 442.8 crore, and TDP Rs 181.35 crore. Additionally, BRS emerged as the fourth largest recipient through electoral bonds, encashing bonds worth Rs 1,322 crore.

Other parties like SP received Rs 14.05 crore via electoral bonds, Akali Dal Rs 7.26 crore, AIADMK Rs 6.05 crore, and National Conference Rs 50 lakh. DMK received Rs 656.5 crore through electoral bonds, including Rs 509 crore from lottery king Santiago Martin's Future Gaming.

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