look news india
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has declared electoral bonds illegal and has banned them with immediate effect. However, since the launch of the electoral bond scheme in 2018, a total of 31 political parties in the country have raised Rs. Rs 16,000 crore were donated, of which more than half i.e. Rs. Rs 6,565 crore (55 percent) went to BJP alone. Between 2017 and 2023, Congress spent Rs. 1,123 crores in second place. Despite not being in power among the regional parties, NCP has received the maximum funds. Interestingly, the party in power at the Center or in the state receives more donations.
The Election Commission has not yet released the annual reports of political parties for the financial year 2023-24. But according to the ADR report, political parties collectively raised a total of Rs 10,000 crore through the sale of electoral bonds between March 2018 and January 2024. Rs 16,518 crore has been received. Moreover, more than 90 per cent of the total amount donated to regional parties in power in the states came through electoral bonds. The Central Government launched the Election Bond Scheme on 2 January 2018.
An analysis of the annual audited statements submitted by political parties before the Election Commission shows that the BJP received the highest donations through electoral bonds from 2017-18 to 2022-23, worth Rs. 6565 crores. Congress is at second place in this list, but it got only Rs 10 crore. Donations worth Rs 1123 crore have been received through electoral bonds.
The Election Commission is yet to release the annual reports of the parties for the financial year 2023-24. Apart from national parties, ruling regional parties in states have also received huge funds through electoral bonds, with Trinamool Congress getting the highest amount of Rs. Donation of Rs 1,093 crore has been given. It is at third place after BJP and Congress. Trinamool Congress is in power in West Bengal since 2011. Similarly, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been in power in Odisha since 2000, but has not declared any money received from electoral bonds in the first year of the scheme's launch. Between 2018-2019 and 2022-23, the party has spent a total of Rs. Claims to have received an amount of Rs 774 crore.
DMK is in power in Tamil Nadu since 2021. He has spent a total of Rs 20 lakh. Donation worth Rs 617 crore was received. Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which ruled Telangana till last year, spent a total of Rs. 384 crore while Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Rs. Rs 147 crores have been received.
The ruling party in Delhi and Punjab, which recently got national party status, will give Rs. Rs 94 crore has been announced, but it has not been revealed how much has been donated through electoral bonds. JD-U, which has been in power in Bihar in some form or the other for the last 20 years, has spent Rs. Rs 24 crores have been received. Despite not being in power, Sharad Pawar's NCP raised the highest amount of Rs. Donation of Rs 64 crore has been given.