National Desk, 22nd March: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerges as a significant beneficiary of electoral bonds purchased by prominent corporate entities, including Vedanta, Bharti Airtel, Muthoot, Bajaj Auto, Jindal Group, and TVS Motor, as revealed by an analysis of data released by the Election Commission on Thursday (March 22).
The Election Commission disclosed a fresh dataset of electoral bonds, providing alpha-numeric numbers that enable the matching of purchasers with the political parties receiving the funds.
Corporate giants like Vedanta Group extended donations to multiple parties, including BJP, Congress, Biju Janata Dal, and Trinamool Congress. Similarly, Bharti Airtel’s contributions were distributed among BJP, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiromani Akali Dal, Congress, and Janata Dal (United).
Muthoot supported BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party, while the Bajaj Group directed its donations to BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Apollo Tyres contributed to Congress, while Keventers supported both BJP and Congress.
Renowned industrialists like Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw made donations to various parties, including BJP, Trinamool Congress, and Congress.
Rungta Sons Private Limited’s donations were dispersed among Congress, BJP, TMC, and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.
In the pharmaceutical sector, Piramal Capital and Sun Pharma extended support to the BJP, while Torrent Pharmaceutical Limited contributed to BJP, AAP, and Congress. Natco Pharma’s donations were distributed among BJP, Telugu Desam Party, Trinamool Congress, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
The revelation underscores the significant role of corporate donations in shaping the financial landscape of Indian politics, with the BJP emerging as a prominent recipient of such contributions.