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Earlier, the SBI had submitted one list that had the names of the bond buyer with the date and another the list with names of the receipient political party. 

EC uploads data on electoral bonds submitted by SBI

EC uploads data on electoral bonds submitted by SBI
SBI submitted unique number of electoral bonds
SBI submitted data after SC order

Earlier, the SBI had submitted one list that had the names of the bond buyer with the date and another the list with names of the receipient political party.&nbsp;

The Election Commission of India uploaded the complete details of electoral bonds submitted by the SBI on Thursday.&nbsp;
The SBI provided information such as alphanumeric numbers which are unique to each bond purchased. It also provided information about the issue code of the bank branch and the pay code of the bank branch.
Earlier, the SBI had submitted one list that had the names of the bond buyer with the date and another list with names of the recipient political party. The unique bond numbers will help match the two lists.&nbsp;
The State Bank of India was the only bank authorised to sell and redeem the bonds, which were first issued in March 2018 and were being sold until the scheme was declared null and void by the top court last month.
The Election Commission said it has uploaded the data on electoral bonds on its website as received from SBI on "as is where is basis".
(with PTI inputs)

Amit Shah claimed that Congress leaders for years pocketed a portion of cash that was received as political donation.&nbsp;

Electoral bonds should have been improved not scrapped: Amit Shah

Amit Shah claimed that Congress leaders for years pocketed a portion of cash that was received as political donation. 

Amit Shah claimed that Congress leaders for years pocketed a portion of cash that was received as political donation.&nbsp;

Noting that he fully respects the Supreme Court order on electoral bonds, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the scheme was introduced to end black money in politics and added that it should have been improved rather than scrapped.
Shah also said that the one nation, one election is the concept of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and when it will be implemented, it will ensure faster development and end recurring expenditure.
"Electoral bonds were introduced to end the influence of black money in Indian politics. Everyone has to accept the decision given by the Supreme Court. I fully respect the Supreme Court decision. But I feel that instead of completely scrapping the electoral bonds, it should have been improved," he said at an interaction at the India Today Conclave.
Referring to the Congress, the home minister said the leaders of the opposition party used to take political donation in cash because out of a donation of Rs 1,100, they used to deposit Rs 100 in the name of the party and keep Rs 1,000 in their own pockets.
"The Congress party has run this system for years," he said.
Shah said it has been said that the electoral bonds have benefitted the BJP and Rahul Gandhi has made a statement that it is the biggest extortion activity.
"I want to make my stance clear about it. Out of the total Rs 20,000 crore electoral bonds, the BJP has got approximately Rs 6,000 crore. Where did the rest of the bonds go? TMC has got Rs 1,600 crore, Congress got Rs 1,400 crore, BRS got Rs 1,200 crore, BJD got Rs 750 crore and DMK got Rs 639 crore.
"We have got Rs 6,000 crore despite having 303 MPs and the rest got Rs 14,000 crore against 242 MPs. What is the hue and cry about? I can say that once the accounts are settled they will not be able to face you all," he said.
Referring to the one nation, one election proposal, Shah said that due to elections taking place many times across the country, a large amount of money is spent on conducting polls.
Most importantly, he said, due to the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct, decision making of the government has been adversely affected and hence development work is stalled.
"The idea of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP behind one nation, one election is that elections are held again and again in this country and the people are busy in elections and this leads to repeated expenditure.
"Due to the model code of conduct, many development works come to a halt. One nation, one election is a solution for this," he said.
Asked about the seat-sharing talks in Bihar, the home minister said everything will be settled in next one week.
"Everyone is united in NDA in Bihar and this time NDA will win all the seats in Bihar under the leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party," he said.
Commenting on Delhi, where the Congress and the AAP joined hands to flight the polls, he said the BJP got more than 50 per cent votes in all seats of Delhi in the last two Lok Sabha polls and it is going to increase its vote share this time.
"We are least bothered what they do in the remaining 49 per cent," he said.
Shah reiterated Prime Minister Modi's statement that the BJP will get more than 370 seats and the NDA over 400 seats.
"We have a track record of 10 years and an agenda for the next 25 years. It is an agenda to create a great India and that is why the public is putting faith in us," he said.&nbsp;

The BJP, TMC and the Congress were the three biggest recepients of funds via electoral bonds from 2019 to 2024. 

Electoral bonds: TMC's encashment doubled after 2021 Bengal elections win

The BJP, TMC and the Congress were the three biggest recepients of funds via electoral bonds from 2019 to 2024.&nbsp;

The Trinamool Congress was the second biggest reciever of funds through electoral bonds between 2019 and 2024. It encashed bonds worth Rs 1,609 crore during the period in total.&nbsp;
According to the Indian Express, the redemption of bonds by the Mamamta-Banerjee led party increased after it won the assembly elections in West Bengal in 2021.&nbsp;
The newspaper reported that the TMC encashed bonds amounting to Rs 43.4 crore between October-November 2020 and January 2021. In April 2021, it used bonds worth Rs 55.44 crore.&nbsp;
The TMC won the elections in May and in July 2021 it redeemed bonds totalling Rs 107.56 crore. The figure rose to Rs 141.92 crore in October 2021 and Rs 224 crore in January 2022.&nbsp;

Telangana's Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) emerges as the second-largest contributor through electoral bonds, with a substantial ₹966 crore.

Megha Engineering: Infrastructure giant & second biggest electoral bond donor, run by PV Krishna Reddy

Telangana's Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) emerges as the second-largest contributor through electoral bonds, with a substantial ₹966 crore.

The Election Commission of India has released information on electoral bonds for the period between April 12, 2019 to January 24, 2024, sharing the details on the top recipients and donors. The second biggest donor on this list is the Telangana based infrastructure major, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited. &nbsp;
Bought bonds worth over ₹1,200 cr
Run by PV Krishna Reddy, Megha Engineering bought ₹966 crore worth of electoral bonds between 2019 and 2023. Three other companies of the group, Western UP Power Transmission Company, SPEC Power and Evey Trans Private Limited also bought bonds worth ₹266 crore during this period, taking the group&rsquo;s total donations to over ₹1,200 crore.
Founders: PP Reddy, PV Krishna Reddy
Megha Engineering is a Telangana-based business conglomerate with major interest in infrastructure. It was established by Pamireddy Pitchi Reddy in 1989 as Megha Engineering Enterprises. His nephew PV Krishna Reddy, who runs the conglomerate now, joined the company soon.
From pipes to dams
Initially the company used to build small pipes for municipalities. However, it soon expanded into building infrastructure projects such as dams, roads and power plants. Now PP Reddy and PV Krishna Reddy are the 54th richest in India with net-worth of over $4 billion, according to Forbes &lsquo;India&rsquo;s 100 richest&rsquo; list for 2023.
Mega irrigation project, Zojila Tunnel
Megha Engineering is now known for executing mega infrastructure projects. It has built one of the largest irrigation projects in Telangana worth over ₹1.1 lakh crore. It has also constructed Asia's longest bi-directional tunnel, Zoji La project, to connect Srinagar and Ladakh. In 2023, the Hyderabad-based company beat engineering bellwether Larsen &amp; Toubro Ltd (L&amp;T) to bag the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project in Mumbai for a total bid amount of ₹14,400 crore,&nbsp;
The Electric Vehicles Business
The group&rsquo;s electric vehicles company, Olectra Greentech, is one of the leading electric bus-makers makers in India. In February 2024, Olectra Greentech won a contract from Mumbai&rsquo;s public transport agency, Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply &amp; Transport Undertaking (BEST) for supply of 2,400 electric buses worth ₹4,000 crore. In July 2023, it received an order for 5,150 buses from Maharashtra&rsquo;s State Road Transport Corporation worth around ₹10,000 crore. In March 2023, it won an order from Telangana State Road Transport Corporation for 550 Buses worth around ₹1,000 crore. Also Watch: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/business-news/santiago-martin-the-top-electoral-bond-donor-and-a-man-of-many-controversies-1710478121380">Santiago Martin: The top electoral bond donor, and a man of many controversies</a>

The Election Commission of India has revealed details about electoral bonds, highlighting Future Gaming as the top donor. Santiago Martin, known as the "Lottery King," heads Future Gaming

Santiago Martin: The top electoral bond donor, and a man of many controversies

The Election Commission of India has revealed details about electoral bonds, highlighting Future Gaming as the top donor. Santiago Martin, known as the "Lottery King," heads Future Gaming

The Election Commission of India has released information on electoral bonds, providing details on the top recipients and donors between April 12, 2019 to January 24, 2024. There&rsquo;s a surprise at the top of the donor list. A relatively unfamiliar name, Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited, has emerged as the top donor through electoral bonds.
What is Future Gaming?
Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited has topped the donor list with a purchase ₹1,368 crore rupees worth electoral bonds. Run by Santiago Martin, who is also popularly known as the "Lottery King", Future Gaming claims to have business interests in hospitality, healthcare, education and real estate. The company, which was previously known as Martin Lottery Agencies, is also known as a significant contributor to lottery sales in Sikkim, Kerala, and West Bengal, the states which still allow the lottery business.
Santiago Martin, the "Lottery King"
Santiago Martin is the founder &amp; Chairman of the Martin Group of Companies which owns Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited. The website of his chartiable trust, The Martin Fondation, states &ldquo;The story of his life is one that epitomizes the success of a man who built nothing, into an empire.&rdquo; It also adds that he had his first brush with the lottery business at the age of 13 years, and later attained &ldquo;a position of leadership&rdquo; in lottery trade. The website claims that Martin is now regarded as the &ldquo;Lottery King&rdquo; of India.
Santiago Martin: The Controversies
Though the Coimbatore-based businessman is relatively unknown at the national level, he is no stranger to controversies. &nbsp;&nbsp;
In 2008, Santiago Martin was in the eye of a row over a contribution of ₹2 crore to CPI(M) mouthpiece Deshabhimani. However, the money was later refunded to him due to a feud within the party between the Pinarayi Vijayan and V S Achuthanandan camps.
Santiago Martin has also had close ties with DMK. In 2011, he was in the limelight for producing a ₹20 crore Tamil movie called Ilaignan. The script of the movie was written by the then Chief Minister of the state, M Karunanidhi.
However, when Jayalalitha-led AIADMK came to power in the state, &lsquo;the lottery king&rsquo; was arrested in Chennai in connection with an alleged land grab case. Though, the Madras High Court later acquitted him in that case.
Between 2011 to 2013, he was also on the radar of the police forces from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, when his businesses faced searches and raids at various premises in connection with probes into illegal lottery operations in these states.
In 2015, Santiago Martin&rsquo;s businesses faced the heat from the Income Tax Department. The taxman raided his premises across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, while probing allegations of tax evasion and financial irregularities.
In Dec 2021, Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached his properties worth ₹19.5 crore in connection with a money laundering probe. In 2022, once again the ED attached ₹411 crore in the bank accounts of the firm and other companies under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. &nbsp;Later the enforcement agency also filed a prosecution complaint against the company before the PMLA Court, Kolkata on September 09, 2023. Also Watch: <a href="updatescript?id=1710478532437&amp;ref=video">Megha Engineering: Infrastructure giant &amp; second biggest electoral bond donor, run by PV Krishna Reddy</a>

The BJP was the biggest recipient of donations made through the purchase electoral bonds. 

Electoral bonds: BJP top recipient, redeemed bonds worth over Rs 6,000 crore

The BJP was the biggest recipient of donations made through the purchase electoral bonds.&nbsp;

The Election Commission of India has published data on donations made to political parties through the purchase of electoral bonds.
The SBI while submitted the data said that a total of 22,217 electoral bonds of varying denominations were purchased by donors between April 1, 2019 and February 15 this year, out of which 22,030 were redeemed by political parties.
According to the Indian Express, the Bharatiya Janata Party encashed bonds worth Rs 6,061 crore or over 47% of the bonds.
The TMC redeemed bonds worth Rs 1,609 crore and Congress Rs 1,421 crore.
While the Bharat Rashtra Samithi encashed bonds worth Rs 1,214 crore, BJD redeemed Rs 775.5 crores.&nbsp;
Also watch: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/india-news/petrol-diesel-prices-cut-by-rs-2-per-litre-ahead-of-lok-sabha-polls-1710467347917">Petrol, diesel prices cut by Rs 2 per litre ahead of Lok Sabha polls</a>

According to experts, the central government cannot promulgate an ordinance in this case as the Supreme Court set aside the whole regulation 

Can Modi govt bring back Electoral Bonds scheme through ordinance? Experts weigh in 

According to experts, the central government cannot promulgate an ordinance in this case as the Supreme Court set aside the whole regulation&nbsp;

The central government cannot bring electoral bonds scheme through ordinance, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has said.
Speaking to the Indian Express newspaper, the senior advocate said that the Modi government has to bring in a new funding system as an ordinance cannot set aside a judgement.
"They cannot. An Ordinance cannot set aside a judgment. No law can set aside a judgment. They can bring an Ordinance to put in place a new funding system. But not this," he was quoted as saying.
Echoing similar views, former additional solicitor general Vikas Singh also said that it was legally impossible to bring back the same law without making any modifications.
&ldquo;The government cannot overcome the judgment; they have to bring in a law which is in conformity with the judgment. Once a judgment strikes down a particular law, the government cannot bring back the same law in the same avatar,&rdquo; he said.
He said that the government needs to remove the element of anonymity from the current electoral bonds scheme.
"It is legally impermissible to bring back a law without making any modifications after being struck down by the court. If the government intends to promulgate an ordinance, it will have to remove the element of anonymity from the current electoral bonds scheme," he told Moneycontrol.com
In a landmark verdict delivered within a spitting distance of the Lok Sabha polls, the electoral bonds scheme was scrapped by the Supreme Court on Thursday. The court termed the scheme "unconstitutional" and ordered a disclosure of the purchasers' names, the value of the bonds and the details of their recipients.
In an affidavit filed on March 27, 2019, the EC informed the top court that it had written to the Centre, saying the changes made in several laws relating to political funding will have "serious repercussions" on transparency.
The poll panel had also said the changes in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 will allow unchecked foreign funding of political parties, which could lead to Indian policies being influenced by foreign companies.
The EC said on May 26, 2017, it had written to the Ministry of Law and Justice about its views that the changes made in the Income Tax Act, the Representation of the People Act and the Finance Act would be against the endeavour to have transparency in the funding of political parties.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud did not agree with the Centre's contention that the scheme was meant to bring about transparency and curb black money in political funding.
Also read| <a href="https://www.editorji.com/india-news/what-is-the-electoral-bonds-scheme-why-did-the-supreme-court-strike-it-down-1707992798112">What is the electoral bonds scheme? Why did the Supreme Court strike it down?</a>

Here's why the Supreme Court said the electoral bonds scheme was unconstitutional and violative of citizens' right to information.&nbsp;

What is the electoral bonds scheme? Why did the Supreme Court strike it down?

Here's why the Supreme Court said the electoral bonds scheme was unconstitutional and violative of citizens' right to information. 

Here's why the Supreme Court said the electoral bonds scheme was unconstitutional and violative of citizens' right to information.&nbsp;

The electoral bonds scheme, notified by the Central government on January 2, 2018, was pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring in transparency in political funding.
According to the provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds could be purchased by any citizen of India or entity incorporated or established in the country. A person could buy electoral bonds, either individually or jointly with others.
State Bank of India (SBI) was the only lender that was authorised to issue electoral bonds, and had sole access to the details of those who purchased electoral bonds.
The scheme, therefore, allowed entities to make anonymous donations to political parties.
The political party had to encash the bond within 15 days of the issuance, only through an account with the authorised bank SBI.
The constitutionality of scheme was challenged in the Supreme Court immediately after it was notified.
Petitioners including CPI(M) and the Association for Democratic Reforms argued that voters have the right to know which individual, company, or organisation funded which party and to what extent.
The appeals also argued that the ruling party could grant concessions to their donors, in the form of licenses, leases, policy changes and government contracts, if funders remained anonymous to the public.
The Supreme Court passed a judgment on Thursday, in favour of the petitioners, and struck down the electoral bonds scheme.
A five-judge Constitution bench held the scheme unconstitutional and violative of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of Constitution.
Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the scheme may lead to a quid pro quo arrangement between political parties and donors.
The apex court ordered SBI to stop issuing electoral bonds immediately, and asked the lender to furnish details of donations made through the scheme to the Election Commission.
Upholding the citizens' right to information, the court asked the poll panel to publish the information on its official website by March 13.
The Centre had argued that the purpose of electoral bonds was to ensure 'right to privacy' and confidentiality of the donors, and not their anonymity. The Government said the scheme would help stop the circulation of black money in politics.
However, the Constitution bench held that Centre's stated objective of fighting black money and maintaining the confidentiality of donors cannot justify the scheme. Electoral bonds, the court said, are not the only way to curb black money.

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