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.
