Bigwigs of corporate India, either directly or through front companies or associates, have shown generosity in subscribing to the Electoral Bonds scheme, as revealed by a series of reports by an agency.

Based on the published data, the agency has identified major corporate entities such as Reliance, Kotak Mahindra, and the Aditya Birla Group among those contributing cr of rupees to the political parties.

The data posted on the EC portal pertains to the period from Apr 12, 2019 to January 2024 and includes information about ₹12,769 cr funding via electoral bonds.

Reliance-linked entities listed as big donors

Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, a lesser-known company with links to Reliance Industries, has caught the attention of people because of its scale of donations.

Notably, none of Reliance Group’s listed firms are among the political donors as per the EC list but the Qwik Supply Chain has emerged as the third biggest donors to political parties via electoral bonds.

The company reportedly bought electoral bonds of ₹410 cr in FY 2021-22 and 2023-24 and also has a connection with Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infra which purchased bonds worth ₹966 cr.

The company has a registered address at Navi Mumbai’s Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC).

However, the Reliance group has denied any links and also ruled out the company being a subsidiary of any Reliance entity.

According to available information, the Qwik Supply, incorporated in the year 2000, is a manufacturer of warehouses and storage units and recorded its revenue at over ₹500 cr in 2022-23.

The company bought electoral bonds worth ₹360 cr in 2021-22 and purchased another bond worth ₹50 cr worth in 2023-24.

Honeywell Properties Private Limited is said to be another Reliance-backed firm that purchased electoral bonds worth ₹30 cr in 2021. Satyanarayanamurthy Veera Venkata Korlep is one of the directors of this company, and as per reports, he is on the board of several Reliance Group firms.

To name another few, Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited donated about ₹31.5 cr to parties in the financial year 2019-20 in two instalments of ₹21.5 cr and ₹10 cr respectively.

Other companies in the list

Vedanta Group is said to be the fourth biggest contributor to political parties via electoral bonds. Grasim Industries, one of the flagships of Aditya Birla Group is another company in the top 100 donors via electoral bonds.

The firm donated ₹33 cr via bonds. Aditya Birla Group donated ₹534 cr in total, which includes ₹224 cr by Essel Mining and Industries Limited, ₹135 cr by Utkal Alumina International Limited, ₹35 cr through Ultratech Cement, ₹105 cr by Birla Carbon, and ₹2 cr through Birla Estate Pvt Ltd, read the report.

Billionaire banker Uday Kotak’s firm bought electoral bonds in three windows - first in 2019 (₹25 cr), second in 2020 (₹10 cr) and third in 2021 (₹25 cr).

The bonds were purchased by Mumbai-based Infina Finance, jointly owned by Kotak Mahindra Bank and Kotak family.

Thorough scrutiny reveals several connections

While the list of electoral bond purchasers has umpteen names, a few findings by the report have caught the attention of many.

Laxmidas Vallabhdas Merchant is among the few donors, who made a donation of ₹25 cr in individual capacity and also features among Top 100 donors in the electoral bonds data, the report found.

LinkedIn profile of Laxmidas Vallabhdas Merchant shows that he is the Group Controller of Reliance Group and takes care of its tax compliance regime.

According to the report, three out of the top 15 electoral bond donors belong to one conglomerate - Keventer Group of companies, together contributing to about ₹500 cr. Keventer Foodpark Infra Pvt Ltd made the biggest bonds purchase of ₹195 cr while Madanlal Ltd came close second with ₹185.5 cr.

Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited is the second-highest donor to parties, as per the report. The Hyderabad-based company purchased bonds worth ₹966 cr and remains the second biggest contributor since 2019.

Udaipur-based Wonder Cement, a relatively unknown company donated ₹20 cr through electoral bonds while Future Gaming donated ₹328 cr in 2022-23.

Chennai Green Woods Private Limited, another lesser-known firm donated more than ₹100 cr in three chunks - ₹40 cr, ₹50 cr, and ₹15 in 2022 and 2023. The construction firm is co-owned by a Guntur-based businessman and a YSR Congress MP.

As per SC guidelines, the list of donors who purchased electoral bonds and that of political parties that encashed them are posted on the EC website.

The political parties that redeemed electoral bonds include the BJP, Congress, AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JD-S, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JD-U, RJD, AAP, Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, the BJD, among others.

All eyes are now on the ‘unique numbers’ likely to be shared by the State Bank of India (SBI) on Mar 18.

It will give some more clarity on which entities contributed to which political parties.

(Source: IANS)

- Edited for style

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