Electoral Bonds Data: Listed companies overwhelmingly back BJP
More than 100 listed companies used electoral bonds to transfer money to political parties, with Bharatiya Janata Party getting 7 rupees for every rupee sent to the opposition Indian National Congress.
Together, listed companies and their associates -- including the likes of Grasim Industries, Bharti Airtel, Vedanta, Torrent Power, DLF, Jindal Steel & Power, IFB Agro Industries, Piramal, Dr Reddy's Labs and Natco Pharma -- gave around Rs 3,665 crore during 2019-2024 to political parties. This is based on the data uploaded by Election Commission of India on the directions of the Supreme Court of India.
Unlike unlisted entities and private individuals, listed companies showed a clear preference for parties in power, with around 90% of the funds going to such parties.
The biggest beneficiary was the Bharatiya Janata Party, which got 66.8% of the total proceeds sent by listed entities and their subsidiaries.
The second beneficiary was not the Congress, the primary opposition at the centre and a party which was ruling several states, but Biju Janata Dal, the party ruling Odisha -- the most resource rich state in the country. BJD got 12% of the total Rs 3,665 crore sent by listed companies through electoral bonds, 30% more than the Congress, which got only around 9.2%.
BJP
As mentioned, BJP -- the ruling party at the center -- was the favorite destination for funds sent by listed companies.
Out of the 100+ companies and groups linked to listed entities, 76 made contributions to BJP, totaling Rs 2,448 crore.
The biggest donor for the BJP was a company known as Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, with an infusion of Rs 375 crore. While it is not clear who owns this company or what its business or source of income is, media reports have linked it to the Mukesh Ambani group based on various clues and indications in its regulatory filings.
At no.2 in terms of funding to the BJP was the Aditya Birla Group, whose various entities gave Rs 275 crore to the party during the period in question.
The biggest contribution from the group to the BJP came in the form of a Rs 105 crore contribution from Birla Carbon India Pvt Ltd, which makes carbon black used in the manufacturing of paints, inks, plastics, adhesives, sealants and tires.
Essel Mining and Industries Ltd, which is into coal mining and production of iron pellets, contributed Rs 50 crore to India's largest political party, while Utkal Alumina International Ltd, which operates an aluminium refining factory in Odisha, chipped in with Rs 75 crore.
Other contributions from the group came via Ultra Tech Cement, which gave Rs 22 crore and Grasim Industries, which gave Rs 23 crore.
The third biggest contributor of funds to the ruling party at the centre was the Bharti Airtel group, which pumped in Rs 236 crore, followed by mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd, which contributed Rs 230 crore, and DLF group, which gave Rs 170 crore.
At no.6 in terms of contributions to the BJP was the Ahmedabad-based Torrent group, which operates Torrent Pharma and Torrent Power. Together, these companies infused Rs 137 crore into the BJP via electoral bonds.
Other major contributors to the saffron party include Mumbai-based Piramal Group (Rs 88 crore), construction company NCC Ltd (Rs 60 crore), United Phosphorous (Rs 50 crore), Welspun Group (Rs 42 crore) and IRB group (Rs 40 crore).
Substantial contributions were also made by several pharma companies, such as Cipla (Rs 37 crore), Aurobindo Pharma (Rs 34.5 crore), Sun Pharma Labs (Rs 31.5 crore), Divi's Labs (Rs 30 crore), Dr Reddy's (Rs 25 crore) and Mankind Pharma (Rs 24 crore).
Other major contributors to the BJP included Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp, both of which chipped in Rs 20 crore each.
You can see the full list of contributors to BJP at the bottom of the article
Indian National Congress
The biggest contributor of funds to the Congress was Vedanta Ltd, which gave Rs 125 crore and was the only listed company to contribute more than Rs 22 crore to the party.
At No.2 was Torrent Group, which also figures among the top donors for the BJP, with a contribution of Rs 22 crore, followed by Jindal Steel and Power (Rs 20 crore), real estate group Prestige (Rs 15 crore) and Dr Reddy's and JK Lakshmi Cement (Rs 14 crore each).
Even though INC got only one-seventh of the money that the BJP got from listed entities, the total number of listed entities that contributed to the Congress was nearly half of what it was for BJP, indicating that listed firms continue to hedge their bets as far as political contributions go by keeping the Congress in good humor.
For example, various entities belonging to the Aditya Birla Group, which was BJP's No.2 backer with a contribution of Rs 275 crore, also gave the Congress Party Rs 10 lakh. Interestingly, AB group firms gave a total of Rs 265 crore to regional party Biju Janata Dal.
Similarly, Bharti Airtel, which gave Rs 236 crore to the BJP, did not forget to contribute Rs 8 crore to the Congress.
However, this was not true for all big companies. Going by SBI's data, among those who made heavy contributions to the BJP, but did not give anything to the Congress include Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, DLF, Piramal, NCC and United Phosphorous, Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp. It is possible that some of them may have made contributions before April 12, 2019 -- the date from which data has been made available by SBI.
Biju Janata Dal
As mentioned in the beginning, the BJP walked away with around 67% of the money contributed by listed entities, while the Congress had 9.2%. Out of the remaining 24%, nearly half was scooped up by one party -- Biju Janata Dal, which rules in Odisha.
The party, despite being confined to just one state, generated 30% more funds from listed companies than the Congress, and nearly four times as much as BRS -- the second biggest regional party according to contributions from listed companies.
However, BJD did not have as many contributors as the Congress. Against Congress' tally of 38 listed companies, BJD got money from just 5. However, these companies contributed substantially, unlike in the case of the Congress.
Of the five contributors, BJD had four companies contributing more than Rs 25 crore, while Congress had only one such backer.
As already mentioned, the biggest contributor to the BJD was the Aditya Birla group through its various entities such as Grasim and Utkal Alumina.
The group contributed Rs 265 crore to BJD. Another metal giant, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, contributed Rs 100 crore, followed by another mining behemoth, Vedanta, with Rs 40 crore.
Jindal Stainless was at No.4 with Rs 30 crore, and the last and final contributor, IFB Agro Industries, chipped in with Rs 6.3 crore.
BJP's Backers (Listed Companies & Associates Only)
| COMPANY | AMOUNT (cr) |
|---|---|
| QWIKSUPPLYCHAINPRIVATELTD | 375 |
| AB GROUP (ESSEL MINING, GRASIM, ULTRATECH, BIRLA CARBON, UTKAL) | 275 |
| BHARTI AIRTEL GROUP | 236.4 |
| VEDANTA LTD | 230.15 |
| DLF GROUP + DLF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS + DLF GARDEN CITY INDORE + DLF LUXURY HOMES | 170 |
| TORRENT GROUP - AHMEDABAD | 137 |
| PIRAMAL GROUP | 88 |
| NCC LTD | 60 |
| UNITED PHOSPHORUS INDIA LLP | 50 |
| WELSPUN GROUP | 42 |
| IRB + MODERN ROAD MAKERS | 40 |
| CIPLA LTD | 37 |
| AUROBINDO PHARMA LTD | 34.5 |
| SUN PHARMA LABORATORIES LTD | 31.5 |
| DIVI S LABORATORIES LTD | 30 |
| JINDAL SAW LTD | 27 |
| GENUS POWER INFRASTRUCTURES LTD | 25.5 |
| KALPATARU PROJECTS INTERNATIONAL LTD | 25.5 |
| DR.REDDY'S LABORATORIES LTD | 25 |
| THE RAMCO CEMENTS LTD | 25 |
| MAHINDRA AND MAHINDRA LTD | 25 |
| MANKIND PHARMA LTD | 24 |
| VARDHMAN TEXTILES LTD | 20 |
| RP SAJIV + PCBL + PHILIPS CARBON | 20 |
| PRESTIGE GROUP (REAL ESTATE) | 20 |
| BAJAJ FINANCE LTD | 20 |
| HERO MOTOCORP LTD | 20 |
| MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD | 20 |
| ZYDUS GROUP + ZYDUS HEALTHCARE LTD | 18 |
| FINOLEX CABLES LTD | 18 |
| LUPIN LTD | 18 |
| NATCO PHARMA LTD | 15 |
| J K CEMENT LTD | 15 |
| ALKEM LABORATORIES LTD | 15 |
| GOODLUCK INDIA LTD | 12.5 |
| KEC INTERNATIONAL LTD | 11 |
| ALEMBICPHARMACEUTICALSLINCLRTGS | 10.2 |
| BAJAJ AUTO LTD | 10 |
| GUJARAT FLUORO CHEMICALS LTD | 10 |
| IPCA LABORATORIES LTD | 10 |
| BAJAJ HOLDINGS AND INVESTMENT LTD | 10 |
| CYIENT LTD | 10 |
| DCM SHRIRAM LTD | 10 |
| TVS MOTOR COMPANY LTD | 10 |
| UPL LTD | 10 |
| GLENMARK PHARMACEUTICALS LTD | 9.75 |
| ARVIND LTD | 9 |
| CAPACITE INFRAPROJECTS LTD | 7 |
| FORCE MOTORS LTD | 6.35 |
| CEAT LTD | 6 |
| PATEL ENGINEERING LTD. | 6 |
| GVPR ENGINEERS LTD | 5 |
| G R INFRAPROJECTS L | 5 |
| RADICO KHAITAN LTD | 5 |
| INDIA GLYCOLS LTD | 3.99 |
| JINDAL STEEL AND POWER LTD | 3 |
| AJANTA PHARMA LTD | 3 |
| BC JINDAL GROUP + JINDAL POLY FILMS LTD | 3 |
| JMC PROJECTS INDIA LTD | 3 |
| MARAL OVERSEAS LTD. | 3 |
| MUTHOOT FINANCE LTD | 3 |
| SOM DISTILERIES GROUP | 3 |
| ZENSAR TECHNOLOGIES LTD | 3 |
| RATNAMANI METALS AND TUBES LTD | 2.5 |
| BALRAMPUR CHINI MILLS LTD | 2 |
| DALMIA BHARAT SUGAR AND INDUSTRIES LTD | 2 |
| LUMAX INDUSTRIES LTD | 2 |
| THE SUPREME INDUSTRIES LTD | 1.5 |
| LT FOODS + DAAWAT FOODS LTD | 1 |
| INOX LEISURE LTD | 1 |
| PANACEA BIOTEC PHARMA LTD | 1 |
| SAGAR CEMENTS LTD | 0.5 |
| GHCL LTD | 0.5 |
| M R F LTD | 0.15 |
| GEOJIT INVESTMENT SERVICES LTD | 0.025 |
| R R KABEL LTD | 0.02 |
INC's Backers (Listed Companies & Associates Only)
| COMPANY | AMOUNT (cr) |
|---|---|
| VEDANTA LTD | 125 |
| TORRENT GROUP - AHMEDABAD | 22 |
| JINDAL STEEL AND POWER LTD | 20 |
| PRESTIGE GROUP (REAL ESTATE) | 15 |
| DR.REDDY'S LABORATORIES LTD | 14 |
| JK LAKSHMI CEMENT LTD | 14 |
| GENUS POWER INFRASTRUCTURES LTD | 13 |
| NATCO PHARMA LTD | 12.25 |
| NUVOCO VISTAS CORP. LTD | 10 |
| BHARTI AIRTEL GROUP | 8 |
| WELSPUN GROUP | 8 |
| TRIDENT LTD | 7 |
| IRB + MODERN ROAD MAKERS PVT LTD | 6 |
| THE SANDUR MANGANESE & IRON ORES LI | 5.6 |
| SHREE CEMENT LTD | 5.5 |
| IFB AGRO INDUSTRIES LTD | 5 |
| DIVI S LABORATORIES LTD | 5 |
| J K CEMENT LTD | 5 |
| GVPR ENGINEERS LTD | 5 |
| INTERGLOBE AVIATION LTD | 5 |
| ZYDUS GROUP + ZYDUS HEALTHCARE LTD | 3 |
| APOLLO TYRES LTD | 3 |
| GOODLUCK INDIA LTD | 2.5 |
| CIPLA LTD | 2.2 |
| FINOLEX CABLES LTD | 2 |
| GUJARAT FLUORO CHEMICALS LTD | 2 |
| JINDAL SAW LTD | 2 |
| JMC PROJECTS INDIA LTD | 2 |
| PVR LTD | 2 |
| THE SUPREME INDUSTRIES LTD | 1.25 |
| VARDHMAN TEXTILES LTD | 1 |
| AJANTA PHARMA LTD | 1 |
| JUBILANT LIFE SCIENCES LTD | 1 |
| EDELWEISS HOUSING FINANCE LTD. | 1 |
| SAGAR CEMENTS LTD | 0.5 |
| BANGUR SHREE | 0.4 |
| AB GROUP (ESSEL MINING, GRASIM, ULTRATECH, BIRLA CARBON, UTKAL) | 0.1 |
| GEOJIT INVESTMENT SERVICES LTD | 0.075 |
BJD's Backers (Listed Companies & Associates Only)
| COMPANY | AMOUNT (cr)) |
|---|---|
| AB GROUP (ESSEL MINING, GRASIM, ULTRATECH, BIRLA CARBON, UTKAL) | 264.5 |
| JINDAL STEEL AND POWER LTD | 100 |
| VEDANTA LTD | 40 |
| JINDAL STAINLESS LTD | 30 |
| IFB AGRO INDUSTRIES LTD | 6.3 |