Tamil Nadu-based lottery firm Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd tops the list of donors to political parties through electoral bonds. It purchased bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore, and all the bonds were of the highest Rs 1 crore denomination, according to the data related to sale and purchase of electoral bonds provided by the State Bank of India and uploaded by the Election Commission.
The Coimbatore-based firm was way ahead of the other donors in terms of the amount donated using electoral bonds and the only one to donate more than Rs 1,000 crore through the bonds route. Santiago Martin, who is also known as lottery king of India, is the managing director of Future Gaming which was set up in 1991. The company is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate in multiple cases.
Among the top 10 purchasers of electoral bonds, and second on the list, is Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, which purchased bonds worth Rs 966 crore. It is based in Telangana and is involved in dams and power projects.
Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, a logistics and supply chain, has purchased bonds worth Rs 410 crore. Haldia Energy Ltd, a thermal power plant in Haldia, West Bengal, bought bonds worth Rs 377 crore. Aluminum giant Vedanta Ltd purchased bonds of the value of Rs 376 crore. Another mining company Essel Mining and Industries Ltd bought bonds worth Rs 224.5 crore.
Western UP Power Transmission Co., which is involved in production and distribution of power, purchased bonds to the tune of Rs 220 crore. Telecom major Bharti Airtel Ltd bought bonds worth Rs 198 crore. Keventer Food Park Infra Ltd, which specialises in dairy and FMCG and is a West Bengal-based company, purchased bonds worth Rs 195 crore. Another West Bengal-based company,
MKJ Enterprises Ltd, which is involved in the trading of stainless steel, bought bonds worth Rs 192 crore.
As many as 1,300 companies purchased bonds worth Rs 12,155.51 crore, as per the data provided by the SBI of the sale and purchase of elecoral bonds from the period April 2019 to January 2024.
With regard to the recepients, the BJP was the biggest beneficiary in the scheme, and as per the encashment details provided by the SBI in a separate list, the ruling party encashed bonds worth Rs 6,060.51 crore. The Trinamool Congress was the second biggest recepient of funds under the scheme, ahead of the Indian National Congress. The Trinamool encashed bonds worth Rs 1,609.53 crore, while the Congress encashed bonds of a total value of Rs 1,421.87 crore. The Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi encashed bonds worth Rs 1,214.71 crore, and the Biju Janata Dal encashed bonds amounting to Rs 775.50 crore.
