The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently released additional data on electoral bonds, including party-wise details of redeemed amounts. This information, obtained in digitized form from the Supreme Court’s registry, was submitted by political parties following the court’s interim order in April 2019. The data, provided in sealed covers and returned to the ECI by the Supreme Court, was uploaded on Sunday in compliance with a court order.
Earlier, the ECI had already uploaded electoral bond data provided by the State Bank of India (SBI) in accordance with the court’s directives. This data, disclosed on March 14, revealed significant donations made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
According to the State Bank of India (SBI), between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, a total of 22,217 electoral bonds were purchased, worth Rs. 12,769.40 crore, with 22,030 bonds redeemed by political parties. The SBI, responsible for the electoral bond issuance system, was directed by the court to provide details to the ECI by March 12 or face potential contempt charges.
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