Biju Janata Dal gets the lion's share of non-metro electoral bonds

Among parties that have their base in places other than major cities, Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been the biggest beneficiary of electoral bonds, with over Rs 944.5 crore.

Bonds worth more than Rs 1,100 crore have been issued in places apart from big cities.

Smaller towns and cities that have seen bond issuances and redemptions include Gangtok and Badami Bagh (near Srinagar), apart from Bhubaneswar.

“With reference to your letter No…76/Transparency/2017/PPEMS/Vol II dated November, 2023 on the subject cited above, we are herewith submitting the information in your prescribed format for your kind information and necessary action,” BJD Treasurer Subash Singh had written to the Election Commission.

The amounts were all credited to the Bhubaneswar branch of the State Bank of India.

The Association of Democratic Reforms had gathered data on electoral bonds through a series of Right To Information (RTI) applications. They covered data going back to the inception of the scheme to January 2024.

The Election Commission recently released the data, which came from the State Bank of India. It covered electoral bonds from 2019 to 2024. The ADR has collated citywise information. This has been used to identify flows from outside major metros.

Places excluding New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad have been considered non-metros.

The ADR data showed that eight cities outside the major metros accounted for Rs 1,139 crore. It did not have information on which parties received money through these bonds. The partywise data was released by the Election Commission on Sunday.

The BJD received a total of Rs 944.5 crore. This includes Rs 213.5 crore in 2018-19, Rs 50.5 crore in 2019-20, and Rs 67 crore in 2020-21.

The amounts increased in the years that followed. Compared to Rs 331 crore received in the first three years, the next three years contributed over Rs 613 crore. The highest amount was in 2021-22 --- at Rs 291 crore. Subsequent years also saw over Rs 100 crore each. The data for 2023-24 made available on Sunday was as of September 2023 (chart 1).

 

The ADR data had revealed multiple smaller cities accounting for electoral bond donations. These include Gangtok (Rs 43 crore), Lucknow (Rs 14 crore), and Badami Bagh (Rs 1 crore). Bhubaneswar had higher inflows through electoral bonds than any of the others (chart 2).

The largest source of electoral bonds sold remains metro cities. Mumbai accounted for the bulk of the bonds sold. Hyderabad, Kolkata, and New Delhi follow.

The total raised through bonds in these cities was Rs 13,222 crore.

The Supreme Court struck down the bond scheme in February. It asked State Bank of India to furnish details of the donors. Some details were provided during the previous week, including Sunday. The court had noted the anonymous nature of the donations had the potential to allow large corporate entities to donate to political parties, which could then frame policies in their favour. Earlier regulations limited such donations. The electoral bond scheme had the effect of removing these restrictions.