More bond details out: Payments before 2019 polls; DMK, AIADMK and JD(S) name their donors

A day before the Supreme Court hears the State Bank of India’s response regarding its failure to disclose the unique alphanumeric code for matching electoral bond donors to political parties, the Election Commission of India (ECI) lifted another veil of secrecy over political funding Sunday by revealing contributions received via electoral bonds by political parties in the run-up to the hotly-contested 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The second tranche of data published by the ECI pertaining to donations received between March 2018 and April 2019 is crucial, as it contains voluntary disclosure of donor details by at least four regional parties: the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Janata Dal (Secular) and Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC). While not entirely unprecedented — in 2021, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had voluntarily disclosed a Rs 1 crore donation from Hindalco Industries Limited through an electoral bond in 2019-20 — this disclosure stands as the most extensive to date, albeit partial, shedding light on the exact donors behind each of four party’s coffers.

For example, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd run by Santiago Martin, the largest contributor through electoral bonds, allocated nearly 40% of its total purchases exceeding Rs 1,300 crore from 2019 to 2024 to the DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL), the second-largest purchaser of bonds of almost Rs 1,000 crore, gave away Rs 50 crore to the JDS in Karnataka. Narayana Murthy-led Infosys donated Rs 1 crore to JDS two months before the 2018 Karnataka elections. JKNC received Rs 50 crore from Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Airtel in 2019.

Meanwhile,