 "Electoral bonds: Four financial service firms bought bonds worth Rs 87 cr")
The State Bank of India (SBI), on the orders of the Supreme Court (SC), submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) the details of entities that had purchased the now-scrapped electoral bonds and political parties that received them.
The data released by SBI revealed that financial services firms like Bajaj Finance, Piramal Enterprises, and Edelweiss Group collectively purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 87 crore between April 1, 2019 and January 2024.
Piramal Enterprises, PHL Finvest Pvt Ltd and Piramal Capital and Housing Finance bought bonds worth Rs 60 crore during the period.
It was followed by three entities of Edelweiss Group, subscribing to Rs 4 crore bonds, while Bajaj Finance purchased bonds worth Rs 20 crore, as per the details published by the Election Commission of India on Thursday evening.
Muthoot Finance, the gold loan financier, subscribed electoral bonds worth Rs 3 crore during the period.
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However, the names of the recipient political parties were not disclosed.
SBI has issued electoral bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore in 30 tranches since the inception of the scheme in 2018.
The Supreme Court, however, in a landmark verdict on February 15 scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" and ordered disclosure by the EC of donors, the amount donated by them and recipients.
What are electoral bonds?
The government of India introduced electoral bonds in the country on January 28, 2017. The objective was to facilitate transparent political funding. The bonds, issued exclusively by SBI, served as a designated financial instrument that offered individuals and corporate entities the opportunity to contribute funds to political parties discreetly, as those bonds had no identification of the donor and the political party to which it was issued.
Electoral bonds were available in denominations of Rs 1,000 and could be acquired from SBI branches during specific periods stipulated by the government. Political parties could then redeem those bonds through their designated accounts within a prescribed timeframe.
(With inputs from PTI)