BJP first, AITC second in electoral bond donations
The Bharatiya Janata Party led in the redemption of electoral bonds, amounting to Rs 6,060.5 crore between April 12, 2019, and January 24, 2024, constituting over 47.5 per cent of the total bonds.
Following closely, the All India Trinamool Congress received Rs 1,609.50 crore (12.6%), while the Congress received Rs 1,421.9 crore (11.1%), ranking as the second and third highest parties in terms of redemption during this period.
Additionally, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Biju Janata Dal, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam each redeemed more than Rs 500 crore worth of electoral bonds within the same period.
These information were disclosed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) following the directive of the Supreme Court to host it on its website by March 15, after the State Bank of India (SBI) made the data public on March 12.
The data provided by SBI includes two sets: one detailing the date of purchase, purchaser’s name, and bond denomination for each electoral bond purchased between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, totaling 22,217 bonds purchased, and the other indicating that 22,030 bonds were redeemed by political parties during the same period.
