Access here Comprehensive Data on Electoral Bonds (as of February 2024)
Data from the Annual Audit Reports submitted by political parties to the Election Commission of India indicates that in 2021-22, BJP was the beneficiary of 39% of the EBs redeemed during the year followed by Trinamool Congress which redeemed 20% of the EBs. The Congress was fifth in the list with DMK & BJD in the 3rd & 4th positions for 2021-22.
Since the introduction of Electoral Bonds (EBs) in January 2018, they have become an important part of the funding of political parties in India. During the first two complete fiscal years after the introduction of Electoral Bonds i.e., 2018-19 and 2019-20, Electoral Bonds worth Rs. 2.55 thousand crores and Rs. 3.44 thousand crores were purchased.
In an earlier story, we have highlighted that in contrast to the trend, there was a sharp fall in the value of Electoral Bonds purchased in 2020-21, with Rs. 472 crores, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. We also highlighted that in the ensuing year i.e., 2021-22, EBs worth Rs. 2.67 thousand crores were purchased. This is the second highest value in a fiscal year after 2019-20. It is understandable in context of the assembly elections in multiple states during 2021-22. But the beneficiaries of the same were unknown until the political parties submitted their annual audit documents much later.
Recently, most of the recognised National and State political parties have submitted they Audit reports for 2021-22. These reports provide insights about the beneficiaries of the electoral bonds purchased in 2021-22. The data for the analysis is taken from Factly’s Dataful, which in turn has sourced it from the Annual Audit Reports submitted by Political parties with the Election Commission of India.
Nearly 39% of EBs purchased in 2021-22 redeemed by BJP, 20% by Trinamool Congress
As per the RTI information received from State Bank of India (SBI), the total value of EBs redeemed during 2021-22 was Rs. 2.67 thousand crores. Details of the EBs across the various phases since the launch of the scheme can be accessed from Factly’s comprehensive Dashboard, ‘Electoral Bonds- The Numbers’.
Out of the total EBs purchased in 2021-22, BJP has redeemed EBs worth Rs.1.03 thousand crores accounting to nearly 39% of the total bonds redeemed. Another major National Party i.e., the INC has redeemed bonds worth Rs. 236.1 crores and ranks only 5th in terms of political parties with most EBs redeemed in 2021-22. It ought to be noted that since inception, INC ranked only next to BJP as a beneficiary of EBs. In our earlier story, we highlighted a change in these trends, wherein there is an increase in the share of EBs redeemed by other parties part from these two national parties.
In 2021-22, Trinamool Congress has redeemed the second highest value of EBs with Rs. 528.14 crores i.e., nearly 1/5th of the total value of EBs. It is followed by DMK, which redeemed Rs. 306 crores worth of EBs. It ought to be noted that elections for State legislatures of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu happened during 2021-22. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand were the other states where elections were held during 2021-22.
The general trend has been that apart from the BJP & INC, the other political parties receive donations through EBs during the elections in States where they have a significance presence.
In this context, it is significant to see BJD and TRS receiving Rs. 291 crores and Rs. 153 crores during 2021-22, even though there weren’t any assembly elections in Odisha & Telangana, apart from bye elections for one and two seats respectively. The total value of EBs redeemed as per the Annual Reports for 2021-22 submitted by major recognised parties amounts to Rs. 2.63 thousand crores. EBs worth 39.9 crores are yet to be accounted for. In other words, more than 98% of the EBs purchased during 2021-22 are accounted for.
More than 90% of the Income of Trinamool Congress, DMK & BJD in 2021-22 through EBs
The income of political parties is received through various means. As per the annual audit report submitted by BJP, the total income of the party is Rs. 1.9 thousand crores in 2021-22. Electoral bonds make up around 54% of the total income. The party has received around 1.7 thousand crores through ‘Donations, Grants, Contributions, etc.’, of which EBs account for 58%. The other forms of income under this category include donations from – Electoral trusts, corporates, non-corporate entities, etc.
Congress received only about 44% of its total income through EBs. Of the income through donations, grants & contributions, EBs make up about 68% in the case of INC. On the other hand, the share of EBs in the total Income of a political party is more prominent in case of other parties, mainly – Trinamool Congress, DMK and BJD.
EBs make up 96.7% of the total Rs. 545.75 crores income of Trinamool congress in 2021-22. In case of DMK, it is 96% of Rs. 318.75 crores income. BJD which has over the years received substantial contribution through EBs apart from BJP & INC, has nearly 95% of its income in 2021-22 through EBs. In fact, EBs make up 100% of the total income through contributions for BJD.
In case of TRS and YSRCP, the other Recognised State parties that receive substantial amount of EBs, they make up around 70% and 60% respectively, of the total income. While both the two large National Parties of BJP & INC seem to have other sources of income apart from EBs, many of the regional parties seem to be reliant on EBs for their income.
BJP is beneficiary of 57% of the Electoral Bonds redeemed until 2021-22
While BJP’s share of total EBs redeemed in 2021-22 is less than its share prior to 2020-21, it still is the biggest beneficiary of Electoral Bonds by quite some amount. The total value of EBs redeemed by BJP until 2021-22 is Rs. 5.27 thousand crores i.e., around 57% of the total EBs redeemed during the period. Meanwhile, the share of Congress, which is the second highest beneficiary is about 10.4%. Trinamool Congress and BJD, which have redeemed EBs worth more than Congress in 2021-22, are catching up with the Congress. The share of TMC in the total value of EBs redeemed until 2021-22 is 8.4% while in case of BJD, it is 6.8%.
Electoral Bonds worth Rs. 2.8 thousand crores purchased during 2022-23, second highest in a year
During 2022-23, the sale of EBs was done through 6 phases (Phase XX to XXV). As per the data received from SBI, the total value of EBs purchased across the 6 phases is Rs. 2.8 thousand crores. This is higher than previous year and thus ranks next only to 2019-20 in terms of the value of EBs purchased in a year. Out of this Rs. 2.79 thousand crores are redeemed.
The highest was during Phase XXIII, where in 954 EBs worth Rs. 676.2 crores were purchased. This was during November 2022. The first sale period during 2022-23 i.e., Phase XX which happened in April 2022 has seen sale of 811 bonds worth Rs. 648.8 crores.
As we have highlighted multiple times in our earlier stories, one must wait for a long while to know the political parties that benefitted from EBs. While 2022-23 has seen the second highest value of EBs sold and redeemed, the details of beneficiaries will only be known earliest by latter part of 2023 when political parties submit their annual audit reports.
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were the states which went to polls during 2022-23. There were bye-elections across few states for both assembly & Lok Sabha constituencies. In 2023-24, assembly general elections are due in five large states i.e., Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. The year would also mark a runup to the 2024 National General Elections. It is quite possible that the amount of EBs purchased & redeemed in 2023-24 would surpass all previous years.
