‘Lottery king’, mining giants, Airtel among top electoral bond buyers
NEW DELHI, MAR 15: The Election Commission of India released comprehensive data on electoral bonds on Thursday, revealing the top contributors to political parties through the scheme from 2019 to 2024. At the top of the list is Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd, a prominent lottery company headed by Santiago Martin, with contributions amounting to Rs 1,368 crore.
The second-biggest donor is Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), a Hyderabad-based infrastructure giant known for its involvement in significant projects such as the Zojila tunnel. MEIL, under the leadership of Krishna Reddy, has made substantial donations worth Rs 966 crore.
The third spot is occupied by Mumbai’s Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, a logistics firm that has contributed Rs 410 crore through electoral bonds.Also amongst the top ten donors are mining behemoth Vedanta Limited and the RP-Sanjeev Goenka Group’s Haldia Energy, which made substantial contributions of Rs 400 crore and Rs 377 crore, respectively.
The Bharti Airtel Group, one of India’s biggest conglomerates, and another mining giant, Essel Mining and Industries Ltd, also made significant donations.
In an individual capacity, steel tycoon Lakshmi Niwas Mittal made contributions to the tune of Rs 35 crore thorugh electoral bonds.
The data uploaded by the poll panel revealed details about the purchase of now-scrapped electoral bonds of denominations between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore, since April 12, 2019.
The political parties that redeemed electoral bonds include the BJP, Congress, AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JDS, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, and the Samajwadi Party, according to the data.
-PTI
