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Electoral Bond Scheme: As SC judgment awaits; here’s a look at BJP vs Congress share
- The Electoral Bond scheme, introduced by the Modi government in 2017, allows individuals and entities to donate money to political parties while maintaining their anonymity.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on Thursday on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the Electoral Bond scheme, which allows for anonymous funding to political parties.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had on November 2 last year reserved its verdict in the matter.
Also Read: Supreme Court to deliver verdict on Electoral Bond Scheme: What is it? Who has the most funding? and concerns explained
What is an electoral bonds scheme?
An Electoral Bond is an instrument in the nature of a promissory note or bearer bond which can be purchased by any individual, company, firm or association of persons provided the person or body is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. The bonds are issued specifically for the purpose of contribution of funds to political parties. The electoral bonds scheme was introduced by the PM Narendra Modi-led government in 2017. The scheme was introduced by way of a Finance Bill and was implemented in 2018. It serves as a means for individuals and entities to donate money to registered political parties while maintaining their anonymity.
The State Bank of India (SBI) issues the bonds in denominations of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh, and ₹1 crore. In July last year, the ADR data had revealed that more than half of all donations made to political parties between 2016-17 and 2021-22 were through electoral bonds and the BJP received more funds than all other national parties put together.
BJP vs Congress share in electoral bond
According to the party's annual audited report submitted to the Election Commission, the ruling BJP received nearly ₹1300 crore through electoral bonds in the 2022-23, which was seven times more than what the Congress got in the same period through the same route, news agency PTI has reported. As per the audited report, BJP's total contributions stood at ₹2120 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal, of which 61 percent came from electoral bonds. The party's total income in 2022-23 stood at ₹2360.8 crore, up from ₹1917 crore in FY 2021-22. In contrast to this, Congress, on the other hand, earned just ₹171 crore from electoral bonds. These numbers slumped which was down from ₹236 crore in FY 2021-22.
Earlier in January, a report published by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on the electoral bonds funding political parties in India in financial year 2022-23 (FY23) stated that BJP emerged as the recipient of the highest amount- ₹259.08 crore or 70.69 percent.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Business NewsNewsElectoral Bond Scheme: As SC judgment awaits; here’s a look at BJP vs Congress share
First Published:15 Feb 2024, 10:54 AM IST
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