Electoral bond seen along with rupee notes.
Credit: DH and iStock Photo
The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently revealed that 333 individuals purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 358.91 crore in the time period of April 2019 and January 2024. Among them, 15 corporate figures bought bonds worth Rs 158.65 crore, which means 44.2 per cent of the overall amount, as reported by The Indian Express.
Here we take a look at the 15 major corporate figures.
Credit: ArcelorMittal Website
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal: Rs 35 crore
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is the CEO of ArcelorMittal, one of the largest steel companies. He bought Rs 35 crore worth bonds.
Credit: LinkedIn @Laxmidas V Merchant
Laxmidas V Merchant: Rs 25 crore
Laxmidas V Merchant bought Rs 25 crore worth bonds. Merchant is a director with Reliance Life Sciences. He previously was the director of Reliance Ventures Ltd.
Credit: IndiGo Website
Rahul Bhatia: Rs 20 crore
Rahul Bhatia is the Promoter and Managing Director of IndiGo. He is also the Group Managing Director of InterGlobe Enterprises. He bought Rs 20 crore of bonds.
Credit: X/@aditya_kondawar
Inder T Jaisinghani: Rs 14 crore
Inder T Jaisinghani is the Chairman and Managing Director of Polycab India Ltd He purchased bonds worth Rs 14 crore.
Polycab manufactures cables, wires and a range of other electronical goods.
Credit: X/@kiranshaw
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw: Rs 6 crore
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, a pharma company. She bought bonds worth Rs 6 crore.
Rajesh Mannalal Agarwal: Rs 13 crore
Rajesh Mannalal Agarwal is the owner and co-founder of Ajanta Pharma Limited who bought Rs 13 crore of bonds. It is a multinational pharma company.
Indrani Patnaik: Rs 5 crore
Indrani Patnaik is a director of nine companies in the mining sectors in Odisha and West Bengal. She purchased bonds worth Rs 5 crore.
Credit: LinkedIn/@Sudhakar Kancharla
Sudhakar Kancharla: Rs 5 crore
Sudhakar Kancharla bought Rs 5 crore worth of bonds. He is the founder of Devansh Lab Werks and chairman of Yoda Group.
Harmesh Rahul Joshi and Rahul Jagannath Joshi: Rs 10 crore each
Harmesh Rahul Joshi & Rahul Jagannath Joshi of Om Freight Group bought Rs 10 crore worth bonds each. Om group is a company that deals with international logistics and freight.
Abhrajit Mitra: Rs 4.25 crore
Abhrajit Mitra is the director of Searock Infraproject Private Limited, a Kolkata based firm. Mitra bought bonds for Rs 4.25 crore.
Sarojit Kumar Dey: Rs 3.4 crore
Sarojit Kumar Dey purchased Rs 3.4 crore worth of bonds. He is the director of J D Agro Development Private Limited, JRD Realty Private Limited, and Limelight Vincom Private Limited.
Dilip Ramanlal Thacker: Rs 3 crore
Dilip Ramanlal Thacker is associated with real estate business, infrastructure and hotels. He bought Rs 3 crore worth bonds.
Prakash Balwant Mengane: Rs 3 crore
Prakash Balwant Mengane purchased bonds for Rs 3 crore and is a director in Shreenath Stapatya India Private Limited, a company that manufactures non-metallic mineral products.
Nirmal Kumar Bathwal: Rs 2 crore
Nirmal Kumar Bathwal purchased Rs 2 crore worth bonds. He is the director of Penguin Trading & Agencies Limited among 21 other companies.