In a revelation that has stirred controversy, some of India’s largest corporations, including Vedanta Ltd, Bharti Airtel, RPSG Group, and Essel Mining, emerged as significant political funders over the past five years under a now-defunct opaque funding system. Official data released by the Election Commission of India, following a court order, shed light on the extent of corporate involvement in political funding just days before the upcoming national election.
The controversial funding mechanism, known as Electoral Bonds, permitted companies and individuals to make anonymous donations of unlimited amounts to political parties. This system faced criticism from opposition lawmakers and civil society groups for obstructing transparency and impeding the public’s right to know about political donors.
The Supreme Court of India recently declared Electoral Bonds unconstitutional, effectively banning them. Under this system, individuals or companies could purchase bonds from the government-owned State Bank of India and contribute them to political parties.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emerged as the primary beneficiary of these bonds, securing 55% of the total bonds worth 120 billion rupees ($1.45 billion) donated between January 2018 and January 2024.
The annulment of the funding system was seen as a setback for the BJP and other major political parties, coming just ahead of the impending national election scheduled for May.
According to information presented to the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India sold a total of 22,217 electoral bonds between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, of which 22,030 were cashed in by political parties.
Among the top donors identified by Reuters, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, a lottery and gaming firm, led the list with a total donation of 13.68 billion rupees. Following closely was Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, based in Hyderabad, with contributions amounting to 9.66 billion rupees.
Logistics firm Qwik Supply Chain, natural resources giant Vedanta, and Haldia Energy were also among the prominent contributors.
Despite attempts to reach out to the top 10 businesses for comment, there was no immediate response received during non-business hours.
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