Electoral bonds data: Megha Engineering tops BJP funding

The BJP, the biggest beneficiary of electoral bonds with donations worth over Rs 6,000 crore in the last four years of the scheme, got funds from several corporates and individuals, including Megha Engineering, Future Gaming, and Reliance-linked Qwik Supply.

Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering, which won several contracts for infrastructure projects, donated Rs 584 crore to the BJP, Qwik Supply Rs 395 crore, and Future Gaming Rs 100 crore, according to data released by the Election Commission on Thursday, 21 March.

The BJP also got Rs 346 crore from Keventers Food Park, MKJ Enterprises and Madanlal Ltd -- three firms with the same Kolkata address, Vedanata contributed Rs 226 crore, and Haldia Energy Rs 81 crore.

Vedanta was also a key contributor to the Congress with donations worth Rs 125 crore. The opposition party also received funds from Western UP Power and Transmission, MKJ Enterprises and Yashoda Super Speciality Hospitals.

The BJP also got donations worth Rs 80 crore from Western UP Power and Transmission Company, and Rs 42 crore from Welspun.

Industrialist Lakshmi Mittal donated Rs 35 crore to the BJP in individual capacity, while several other individuals donated funds in the range of Rs 10-25 crore to the ruling party.

The Election Commission made public a fresh data set of electoral bonds, including their alpha-numeric numbers that can help match their purchasers with the political parties that received the funds.

Two separate lists of the donors and the recipients were published by the poll panel on its website after the details were submitted to it by the State Bank of India earlier in the day as per a Supreme Court order.