Bonds of loyalty: what ECI data on political funding shows

Most companies purchasing electoral bonds on multiple occasions did not consistently support a single party, a Mint analysis of the data released by the Election Commission of India showed. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led with over 40 repeat corporate donors demonstrating loyalty, followed by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) with 16.

This analysis defines loyal donors as companies that donated more than once—and each time to the same party. Among such donors, the one with the most purchases was Kolkata-based Ripley & Co. Stevedoring & Handling Pvt Ltd, whose seven donations were all encashed by the AITC. In terms of donation value, DLF Commercial Developers topped the list with five contributions to the BJP, amounting to ₹130 crore.

The analysis covered 762 corporate donors whose details could be conclusively mapped to the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) database and whose beneficiary parties could be identified. (This exercise was done by our partners at howindialives.com.) These accounted for 94% of the total value of bonds purchased between 12 April 2019 and 11 January 2024.

Loyalty meter

Out of 762 corporate donors, only 263 bought electoral bonds more than once within the observed timeframe. Among these, a mere 91 consistently supported the same political party with their donations, indicating that the majority varied their political contributions at least once. Megha Engineering and Infrastructure was the most frequent purchaser, acquiring bonds on 36 occasions and supporting nine different parties, with the BJP often being the primary recipient in scenarios of multi-party donations.

BJP’s large kitty

The BJP, the biggest beneficiary of all, had at least 362 distinct corporate donors, with 43 of them being repeat loyal donors (the biggest being Gurugram-based DLF Commercial Developers). The Congress came next, with at least 177 donors, but just eight of them were loyal. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, was able to become the sixth biggest beneficiary with just 12 donors, none of them being repeat loyal donors.

Also read: Electoral bonds: How giant donors timed their political funding

Also read: Electoral bonds: The curious case of Madanlal Ltd’s donations

Timing the switch

Did companies also change tack in favour of one party after first experimenting with others? Our analysis found 11 companies that have donated to the same party in at least their last three purchases after earlier donating to others as well. One of them is Aurobindo Pharma, whose electoral bond switch towards the BJP following the arrest of one of its directors in 2022 has come under scrutiny in recent days. In five of these 11 cases, the AITC was the beneficiary of the switch, and the BJP in only three cases. Here’s a look at the funding timeline.

Note: This analysis does not necessarily imply quid pro quo between companies and parties. BJP: Bharatiya Janata Party, AITC: All India Trinamool Congress, INC: Indian National Congress, BRS: Bharat Rashtra Samithi, BJD: Biju Janata Dal, YSRCP: YSR Congress Party, TDP: Telugu Desam Party, RJD: Rashtriya Janata Dal, AAP: Aam Aadmi Party, JKNC: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference.