Established by Modi’s administration in 2017 to ostensibly increase transparency by eliminating cash donations from political financing, the ‘electoral bonds’ system allowed individuals and companies to fund political parties through the purchase of bonds from the government-owned State Bank of India (SBI).
While parties were required to declare how much money was donated to them through those bonds, they did not have to reveal the identity of the donors.
As such, the scheme was criticized by the opposition as a graft and blackmail tool.
One of Modi’s leading adversaries, Rahul Gandhi, a member of the Indian National Congress, branded the bonds as “the world’s biggest extortion racket,” while a top official of the Communist Party of India, Sitaram Yechury, described the electoral bonds as “legal cover for political corruption.”
India’s Supreme Court declared last month the electoral bonds scheme “unconstitutional,” noting that such contributions were “purely business transactions made with the intent of securing benefits in return.”
On the directions of the court, the Election Commission revealed last week for the first time who the buyers of these bonds were and how much political parties had received from them.
Individuals and entities that bought these electoral bonds include a self-proclaimed “lottery-king” whom authorities were investigating for a range of financial crimes, such as fraud and money laundering, according to a collaborative project of three newsrooms and independent journalists.
Also among the many buyers were companies that bought the bonds after they were raided by India’s federal investigative agencies.
In another example that appeared a bit off, a company owned by a prominent member of the country’s ruling party won a government hydroelectric power project days before buying bonds worth nearly $5.4 million.
According to the released data, nearly 20,000 electoral bonds—ranging from $120 to $120,000 each—were purchased for nearly $1.99 billion between March 2018 and January 2024. Of these funds, the ruling BJP received $995.5 million, more than any other party in the country by a significant margin. The party with the second-largest share, the Indian Congress, received $235.4 million by comparison.
The release of these records signifies a crucial moment for India’s electorate, as the world’s largest democracy heads to a national election in April-May-June and Prime Minister Modi seeks a third term in power.
