Lifting the Veil of Anonymity

With electoral bond data being released, will corporates disclose details of their purchases to their shareholders?

- SURABHI

SIX YEARS AFTER the electoral bonds scheme was launched as a mechanism to cleanse the system of political funding, the Supreme Court held it as unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary, mandating the disclosure of all details of bond purchases and their redemptions by political parties. In the process, this has brought donations by corporate houses to political parties out in the open.

An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit organisation, which was also one of the petitioners in the case, revealed that out of the total 18,871 bonds worth ₹12,155.51 crore purchased between April 12, 2019, and February 15, 2024, 16,631 were bought by corporate and business houses and 2,240 bonds by individuals.

In all, corporate and business houses purchased electoral bonds worth ₹11,780.0297 crore or 96.91% of the total, while individuals bought bonds worth 375.48 crore or 3.09% of the entire pool.