CNBC TV18
By Priyanka Deshpande
Published Feb 15, 2024
The Supreme Court on February 15 struck down the electoral bonds scheme as 'unconstitutional' and held that electoral bonds are violative of right to information, Article 19(1)(a).
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) examined the total number and value of electoral bonds bought and redeemed by political parties across the 27 phases from March 2018 to July 2023. Take a look at some of the preliminary findings.
24,012 electoral bonds worth ₹13,791 crore were sold, and 23,823 bonds worth ₹13,768 crore were redeemed from March 2018 to July 2023.
From March 2018 to July 2023, 14,508 electoral bonds, constituting 61.595% of the total value redeemed (₹8,480 crore), were encashed in New Delhi, while maximum value of bonds was purchased in Mumbai.
94.25% of the total bond value, equivalent to ₹12,999 crore, was in the denomination of ₹1 crore.
Between FY18 and FY19, political parties received a total of ₹2,760 crore from electoral bonds.
BJP received a whopping 60.173% or ₹1,660 crore between FY18 and FY19. The party declared receiving ₹210 crore for FY18, ₹1,450 crore for FY19, and ₹2,555 crore for FY20.
BJP
Congress declared receiving ₹383 crore for FY19 and ₹317 crore for FY20.
Congress
Between FY18 and FY21, the BJP redeemed electoral bonds worth ₹4,230 crore, comprising 65% of the total for those years. This amount is six times higher than the ₹716 crore redeemed by the Congress in the same period.
Between FY13 and FY19, donations from corporates to National parties increased by 974%.
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