The electoral bond scheme, notified by the government on January 2, 2018, was pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties.
The Supreme Court has struck down electoral bonds as ‘unconstitutional’, thereby asking State Bank of India to stop issuing them ‘immediately’. The verdict by the apex court comes months before the Lok Sabha elections.
The scheme, which was notified by the government on January 2, 2018, was pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
How much donation did each political party receive through electoral bonds?
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
According to the annual audited report submitted to the Election Commission, the ruling BJP got nearly ₹1,300 crore through electoral bonds in the financial year 2022-23.
The total contributions in the financial year 2022-23 stood at ₹ ₹2120 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal, out of which 61 per cent came from electoral bonds, PTI quoted the audit data.
The BJP's total contributions in fiscal 2021-22 were ₹1,775 crore. The saffron party's total income in 2022-23 stood at ₹2360.8 crore, up from ₹1917 crore in FY 2021-22.
The ruling party also earned ₹237 crore from interests in the last financial year, more than the ₹135 crore earned in 2021-22. According to the data submitted to the poll panel, BJP spent ₹78.2 crore for use of aircraft and helicopters, which is down from ₹117.4 crore in 2021-22.
It paid ₹76.5 crore as financial assistance to candidates, down from ₹146.4 crore in 2021-22. The party has shown this assistance under the head 'total payments'.
Congress
The Congress earned ₹171 crore from electoral bonds, down from ₹236 crore received in 2021-22.
Samajwadi Party
Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Partye arned ₹3.2 crore through electoral bonds in 2021-22. In 2022-23, the recognised state party received no contributions from these bonds.
Telugu Desam Party
The TDP, also a recognised state party, earned ₹34 crore through electoral bonds in 2022-23, 10 times more than the amount received in the previous fiscal.