Electoral Bonds Data Reveals Major Investments By Mining, Steel Firms

Vedanta Limited, Rungta Sons Private Limited, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL), Essel Mining and Industries Limited (EMIL), and Dempo collectively invested a total of Rs 825 crore in electoral bonds.

Image used for representational purposes only.

Source : Getty Images

India's prominent mining and steel conglomerates, including Vedanta Limited, Rungta Sons Private Limited, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL), Essel Mining and Industries Limited (EMIL), and Dempo, collectively invested Rs 825 crore in electoral bonds, as revealed by data disclosed by the Election Commission of India.

Among these companies, Rungta Sons Private Limited allocated Rs 100 crore, Vedanta Ltd Rs 376 crore, EMIL Rs 224.5 crore, JSPL Rs 123 crore, and Dempo Rs 1.5 crore towards electoral bonds.

Notably, Vedanta Ltd's contribution of Rs 376 crore included a substantial portion of Rs 98 crore acquired during the January 2022 window, just ahead of elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa. The conglomerate, known for its significant interests in iron ore, oil and gas, copper, aluminium, and steel, is represented by its subsidiary, Sesa Goa, among the leading iron ore mining companies in India.

JSPL, with extensive mining, power, and steel operations primarily in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand, made its donations between October 2022 and November 2023, according to the Indian Express report.

Meanwhile, EMIL, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is reported to have pending statutory clearances for its Bunder Diamond project in Madhya Pradesh. The company purchased electoral bonds totalling Rs 224.5 crore between 2019 and 2022, with significant amounts invested annually.

The report also sheds light on MSPL Ltd, a key player in iron ore mining, which invested in electoral bonds worth Rs 1 crore in April 2019 and Rs 3 crore in April 2023. The company sought modifications to its project terms in January 2022 for its Iron Ore Processing Plant and Pellet Plant in Karnataka's Bellary district, which were subsequently amended by the Environment Ministry.

At the lower end of the spectrum, GHCL Limited, another Noida-based company, invested Rs 50 lakh in electoral bonds in 2019. However, the company's environmental clearance proposal for modernising its soda ash factory and captive power plant in Gujarat's Gir Somnath district was dropped by the Environment Ministry in November 2019, citing non-responsive behaviour to ministry queries, the Indian Express report said.