SC ends electoral bond scheme, shock treatment for BJP

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court’s decision in the electoral bond case will give nothing short of disgruntlement for the central government. With the LS polls just around the corner, the SC decision also provided the opposition with a lethal weapon to attack the ruling BJP.

Electoral bonds were introduced to allow individuals and organizations to donate money to registered political parties. It was introduced and enacted as a Finance Bill in 2017 without the approval of the Rajya Sabha. The decision was implemented in the pretext of controlling the flow of black money in elections. However, many allegations put the BJP in the dock, as it said the rule was brought in favour of the saffron party to mint profits. Confirming this to some extent, it was reported that the lion’s share of electoral donations fell into BJP coffer than any other party.

According to the figures of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), BJP received ten times more funds than all the other national parties combined.

In 2022-2023, the political parties got Rs 850.438 crores through election bonds over Rs 20,000 donations. Out of this Rs 719.856 crores belongs to BJP. Congress got Rs 79.92 crore, Aam Aadmi Rs 37 crore, NPP Rs 7.4 crore and CPM Rs 6 crore. BSP has not accepted any donation above Rs. 20,000. (BJP received Rs 614.626 crores during 2021-22.)

In 2022-23, the corporate business sector contributed Rs 680.495 crores to national parties. Out of this, BJP received Rs 610.491 crores. Congress got only Rs 55.625 crores. Rs 70.004 crore for all other parties. 90 per cent of corporate donations go to BJP.