Congress Redeemed Rs 1,334.35 Crore Through Electoral Bonds, New EC Data Shows

The grand-old party is the third highest receiver of donations through the electoral bonds, after BJP and TMC.

As per the data released by EC, Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334 crore through electoral bonds. ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday released new details on electoral bonds purchased by people, and redeemed by parties. 

As per the data released by EC, Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334 crore through electoral bonds. The grand-old party is the third highest receiver of donations through the electoral bonds, after BJP and TMC.

The ruling BJP encashed electoral bonds totaling Rs 6,986.5 crore, with the highest sum of Rs 2,555 crore received in 2019-20.

Additionally, the data highlighted the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as the second-largest recipient of donations through the electoral bonds scheme, having received Rs 1,397 crore.

The data showed that the DMK led by MK Stalin received Rs 656.5 crore through electoral bonds, including contributions from Santiago Martin's Future Gaming company.

BRS, led by K Chandrashekar Rao, emerged as the fourth largest recipient, having encashed bonds worth Rs 1,322 crore. The Samajwadi Party garnered Rs 14.05 crore through electoral bonds, the data revealed.

The data further disclosed that the BJD cashed in electoral bonds amounting to Rs 944.5 crore, followed by the YSR Congress and TDP receiving Rs 442.8 crore and Rs 181.35 crore, respectively.

According to the EC data, the Akali Dal received Rs 7.26 crore, AIADMK Rs 6.05 crore, and the National Conference (NC) encashed Rs 50 lakh.

The Election Commission in a statement said, "Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Court's order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitised record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data received in the digitised form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website."

This is the second set of data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court.