Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, Ltd. (MEIL) donated ₹584 crore to the BJP (60% of its donations) – the most by a donor for any single party. The MEIL also donated ₹195 crore to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (20% of its donations), and ₹85 crore to the DMK (8.8%). Its subsidiary Western UP Power Transmission Company, Ltd. donated ₹110 crore to the Indian National Congress (INC), followed by ₹80 crore to the BJP, data released by the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday revealed.
All of the top 18 companies (by total donations via electoral bonds) donated portions of the bond denominations to the BJP.
Lottery magnate Santiago Martin’s Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR, the highest electoral bond donor, donated ₹542 crore to the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) through the this route.
This data pertains to bonds purchased and encashed between April 12, 2019, and January 24, 2024, for which information has been released to the public.
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Of the bonds worth ₹1,368 crore purchased by Future Gaming and Hotel Services, 39.6% went to AITC, followed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK, ₹503 crore, 36.7%), and the YSR Congress Party CP (₹154 crore, 11.2%). The Bharatiya Janata Party received ₹100 crore from the firm (7.3%).
These conclusions are based on the data the ECI published on Thursday, which it received from the State Bank of India (SBI) as the Supreme Court had directed.
Qwik Supply Chain Pvt. Ltd. – the third biggest donor via the electoral bond route – gave ₹375 crore to the BJP and ₹25 crore to the Shiv Sena. (Three Reliance Group companies own 50% of Qwik.) Haldia Energy bought bonds worth ₹281 for the AITC and ₹81 crore for the BJP. Vedanta, Ltd. gave ₹229 crore to the BJP, followed by ₹125 crore to the INC.
Keventer Food Park Infra, Ltd., MKJ Enterprises, Ltd., and Madanlal, Ltd. – all three firms registered with the same address in Kolkata and with at least one director in common – donated ₹573 crore together. Of this, 60%, or ₹346 crore, went to the BJP and 21% (₹121 crore) went to the INC.
