Vedanta is Cong’s top donor, followed by Megha Group’s Western UP Power

The group’s Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited was also the highest donor to the BJP with Rs 529 crore — it was the second largest purchaser of electoral bonds, spending Rs 1,192 crore.

electoral bonds: Common to Cong, BJP: Group that gave the most

The Congress redeemed poll bonds worth a total of Rs 1,422 crore since April 2019.

The top donor to the Congress was Vedanta Limited which contributed Rs 125 crore via electoral bonds. The Megha Group’s Western UP Power Transmission Company Limited is the second highest donor which contributed Rs110 crore. The group’s Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited was also the highest donor to the BJP with Rs 584 crore – it was the second largest purchaser of electoral bonds, spending Rs 1192 crore.

With a total of 338 donors contributing, the Congress redeemed poll bonds worth Rs 1422 crore since April 2019.

Read | From a small shed with Rs 5 lakh, how uncle-nephew Reddy duo built Megha Engineering, second-largest bond donor

BJP recipient No. 1, its top 10 donors form 35% of its Rs 6,000-crore electoral bond kitty

Top 10 donors for top 3 parties

MKJ Enterprises Limited, which trades in stainless steel, was at No.3 with 91.6 crore. Sasmal Infrastructure Private Limited, a second company of the Kolakat-based MKJ Group promoted by Mahendra Kumar Jalan, donated Rs 39 crore in bonds to the party.

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Other prominent donors to the Congress vial electoral bonds were Yashoda Hospitals (Rs 64 crore); Avees Trading Finance Pvt Limited (Rs 53 crore); ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin’s Future Gaming and Hotel Services (Rs 50 crore); Rithwik Projects Pvt Ltd (Rs 30 crore); SEPC Power (Rs 30 crore).

At least three companies are from West Bengal where the party is not very strong – MKJ Enterprise Limited, Sasmal Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and Avees Trading Finance Pvt Ltd.

Lalmani Verma

Lalmani is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, and is based in New Delhi. He covers politics of the Hindi Heartland, tracking BJP, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RLD and other parties based in UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Covered the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024; Assembly polls of 2012, 2017 and 2022 in UP along with government affairs in UP and Uttarakhand. ... Read More

Jay Mazoomdaar

Jay Mazoomdaar is an investigative reporter focused on offshore finance, equitable growth, natural resources management and biodiversity conservation. Over two decades, his work has been recognised by the International Press Institute, the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, the Commonwealth Press Union, the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, the Asian College of Journalism etc. Mazoomdaar’s major investigations include the extirpation of tigers in Sariska, global offshore probes such as Panama Papers, Robert Vadra’s land deals in Rajasthan, India’s dubious forest cover data, Vyapam deaths in Madhya Pradesh, mega projects flouting clearance conditions, Nitin Gadkari’s link to e-rickshaws, India shifting stand on ivory ban to fly in African cheetahs, the loss of indigenous cow breeds, the hydel rush in Arunachal Pradesh, land mafias inside Corbett, the JDY financial inclusion scheme, an iron ore heist in Odisha, highways expansion through the Kanha-Pench landscape etc. ... Read More

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