At over Rs 6K crore, BJP biggest electoral bond beneficiary; highest encashment recorded during 2019 Lok Sabha polls

New Delhi: The BJP has seen its highest encashment of electoral bonds following significant electoral events, notably during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. According to data released by the Election Commission of India on Thursday, in April 2019, at the onset of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP encashed bonds worth Rs 1056.9 crores, marking its highest encashment since then. A month later, in May 2019, when the elections were being conducted, the party encashed Rs 714.7 crore.

The data reveals that 2019 recorded the BJP’s peak encashment in any given year, amounting to Rs 1,771.6 crore.

Moving forward, in November 2023, around the assembly elections in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana, the BJP encashed bonds worth Rs 702 crores.

In January 2022, preceding the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Manipur, the BJP encashed Rs 662.2 crores. Later the same year, in November, coinciding with the Himachal Pradesh assembly election, it encashed Rs 602.8 crores. It is noteworthy that the Gujarat assembly elections took place in December of that year.

These three respective encashments stood as the highest since the 2019 bond sale. It's worth mentioning that the electoral bonds data, shared by the Election Commission on Thursday, covers sales and encashments between April 2019 and January 2024.

Comparatively, the TMC's highest encashment in any year came in 2022. In January, ahead of the Goa assembly elections, it encashed Rs 224.2 crores, and later that year, in November 2022, it encashed Rs 143.1 crore. Ahead of the Karnataka elections in April 2023, it encashed Rs 187 crore.

The Congress made its highest encashment in October 2023, a month ahead of the Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana elections, when it encashed Rs 401.9 crore. A month later, in November 2023, it encashed Rs 179.5 crore. The Congress won the elections in Telangana. In April 2023, ahead of the Karnataka elections, it encashed Rs 190.6 crore.

The sale of electoral bonds was initiated by the SBI on March 1, 2018, and the first tranche of sale continued until March 10, 2018, in its branches at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. Electoral bonds worth over Rs 2,500 crore were sold between March 2018 and March 2019, data for which is yet to be made public.

The data made public thus far reveals that, in total, the BJP encashed Rs 6060.5 crore between April 2019 and January 2024, representing the highest amount among all political parties. The Trinamool Congress and the Congress accounted for the second and third highest amounts, with Rs 1609 crore and Rs 1422 crore respectively.

Comparatively, in April and May 2019, the Trinamool Congress encashed bonds worth Rs 17.8 crore and Rs 34 crore respectively, while the Congress encashed Rs 118.6 crore and Rs 50 crore.