HYDERABAD: There appears to be a certain, albeit confounding, method behind the donations made to various political parties through electoral bonds. While some politicians, or the firms owned by them, made donations to even their rival parties, there also appear to be instances of electoral bonds being donated after specific actions.
For example, P Sarath Chandra Reddy’s Aurobindo Pharma donated Rs 5 crore to the BJP in 2022, just five days after he was taken into custody in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. What is more, another Rs 25 crore was donated to the BJP through electoral bonds after Sarath Chandra Reddy turned approver in the same case.
Also noteworthy is the fact that some Hyderabad-based companies were the major contributors to the BJP, and understandably the BRS. Leading the companies was the Megha group, which contributed a whopping Rs 664 crore to the BJP alone.
What is quite curious was that some businessmen-turned-politicians made donations to parties across the political spectrum. For example, companies owned by BRS leaders made donations to other political parties too. A BJP leader made donations to the Congress and another politician donated to both parties.
As per data released by the Election Commission of India, the MSN group owned by the family members of BRS MP Manne Srinivas Reddy donated Rs 20 crore to the BRS and Rs 18 crore to the BJP.
BRS RS member Bandi Parthasarathi Reddy’s Hetero group donated Rs 10 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds.
Donations spark debate about quid pro quo
Interestingly, Rithwik Projects Pvt Ltd, owned by the family of BJP MP CM Ramesh, donated Rs 3 crore to the Congress. The BRS got major donations through electoral bonds from real estate and infrastructure companies like Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL), the My Home Group, Rajapushpa, Vasavi, Sandhya, Vamshi Ram and others. Some of these groups are owned by close associates of top BRS leaders.
It’s not just real estate firms that have deep pockets, some prominent pharma companies including Dr Reddy’s, Divis Lab, Sun, Aurobindo, Hetero and others have contributed generously to the BRS and BJP. This generosity was in the form of donations ranging from Rs 5 crore to Rs 30 crore, depending on the size of the company. Now that the donations are public knowledge, they have sparked a debate about quid pro quo.