The ruling party of resource-rich Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), got the majority of its electoral bond donations from mining and steel companies, shows data released Thursday by the Election Commission. Out of the total Rs 775.50 crore in electoral bonds from 42 donors redeemed by the party from April 12, 2019, to January 2024, nine of the top 10 donors were mining and steel companies. The one non-mining company, Rashmi Cement, is a part of the Rashmi Group, which has iron and steel companies as well. The top donor to the party, the Aditya Birla Group-owned Essel Mining and Industries Ltd gave Rs 174.5 crore. Essel, which as per its website has one of India’s largest iron ore mining operations, is located in Odisha’s Barbil-Barajamda belt. Other Aditya Birla Group companies, Utkal Alumina International Ltd Company and Grasim Industries, gave the BJD Rs 70 crore and Rs 10 crore, respectively. Jindal Steel and Power was the BJD’s second-biggest donor with Rs 100 crore followed by Utkal Alumina, which operates in the state’s Rayagada district. The top 10 donors also included Rungta Sons (Rs 50 crore), S N Mohanty group (Rs 45 crore), Rashmi Cement (Rs 45 crore), Vedanta Ltd (Rs 40 crore), Penguin Trading and Agencies Ltd (Rs 30.5 crore). All these companies are involved in the mining industry. Jindal Stainless, which gave Rs 30 crore, and Rashmi Metaliks, a Rashmi Group company that gave Rs 27 crore, were ninth and tenth on the list. Of the 27 parties that redeemed bonds between April 12, 2019, and January 2024, the BJD ranked fifth after the BJP, Congress, TMC and BRS. In the years the scheme was operational, electoral bonds became the sole source of the BJD’s donations. Starting with 87.9% of its donations in 2018-2019, the share of electoral bonds increased to 99.99% of all BJD donations in 2020-2021 and 100% in 2021-22 and 2022-23, as per the party’s annual accounts report to the Election Commission.
