The big story this month has been the Supreme Court striking down the electoral bonds scheme. The Wire brought to you stories after the order on who had really benefitted from the big deal.
The Supreme Court on February 15 struck down the electoral bond scheme nearly seven years after it was introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2018.
Calling it unconstitutional and in violation of the right to information and Article 19(1)(a), the top court instructed the State Bank of India (SBI) to furnish the details of donations through electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (EC) which, in turn, has to publish these details on their website by March 13, 2024.
Electoral Bonds Are Illegal Now. But Who Benefitted for the 6+ Years They Lasted?
Money that exchanged hands through electoral bonds has already funded two general election cycles and multiple state elections.
See these charts at the outset for how money flowed all these years
What Needs to Be Disclosed by March 31: 5 Charts to Gauge the Cash Flow Through Electoral Bonds
Numbers reflect the BJP’s significant and towering gains from a scheme now deemed in violation of the right to information.
But this has been coming for a long time.
We have prepared a list of eight other stories you may wish to read that will bring you upto speed with how one of the biggest frauds on electoral democracy has played out over the past few years.
Its origin, its impact on election funding over the past seven years, and the vehement opposition it faced from activists, political parties, and civil society.
2019
How Finance Ministry Decided RBI’s Dissent on Electoral Bonds Meant ‘Indirect’ Approval
The Centre also insisted on protecting the identities of corporate donors, and so rejected the RBI’s recommendation that bonds be issued electronically.
Exclusive: BJP Received Donation From Company Being Probed for ‘Terror Funding’
Weeks after Amit Shah accused NCP leader Praful Patel of treason for having bought a property from the wife of an accused terrorist, the ‘Mirchi’ factor has come back to bite the ruling party.
2020
Electoral Bond Scheme Results in Visible Dip in Transparent Corporate Donations
The three nationally recognised political parties received between 61-69.50% of their donations through the electoral bonds route.
2023
How Two IAS Officers Chaperoned the Electoral Bonds Bill Despite RBI’s Objections
Despite objections from the Election Commission too, for six years, India’s politics has been funded anonymously.
Lokesh Batra: The War Veteran on a Mission To Tackle the Electoral Bonds Scheme
The former Navy officer’s relentless pursuit of the electoral bond scheme has raised some serious questions which the Narendra Modi government refuses to answer till today.
After Electoral Bonds: Income from Unknown Sources to Political Parties Rose to 72% of Total Income
The Hindu has analysed data submitted by a petitioner in the electoral bonds case, Association of Democratic Rights (ADR). This counters government contention that electoral bonds have cut down on ‘unknown sources’ of income.
2024
BJP Received Almost 90% of All Corporate Donations to Political Parties in 2022-23
According to the election watchdog’s report, the total donations declared by the national parties for 2022-23 was Rs 850.438 crore of which Rs 719.858 crore went to the BJP alone.
‘Part of Secret Ballot’: How the Modi Govt Backed Electoral Bonds in the Supreme Court
The government had claimed that “donating money to one’s preferred party is a form of political self-expression that lies at the heart of privacy”.