Poll bonds: Future Gaming, Megha Engg among top buyers

New Delhi: Future Gaming and Hotel Services and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd are the top buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds since April 2019 while steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon are among the prominent individual buyers.

These are part of the data received from the SBI and made public by the Election Commission on Thursday night following a Supreme Court judgement, which had declared electoral bonds as unconstitutional.

"Ah, yes, the electoral bond scheme, where transparency meets selective amnesia. Donors file: 18,871 entries. Recipients file: 20,421 entries. Coincidence? I think not. @TheOfficialSBI, you've truly mastered the art of hiding in plain sight, " Congress Lok Sabha Whip Manickam Tagore posted on X after the data was released.

The EC uploaded the data that runs into 763 pages -- 337 of buyers and 426 of those who redeemed on its website, a day ahead of the Supreme Court-fixed deadline. Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, Grasim, Essel and SpiceJet have also bought the bonds.

The data on parties that redeemed the bonds include the BJP, Congress, AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, National Conference, DMK, JDS, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, and the Samajwadi Party.

The donations made to the Congress and the Samajwadi Party were made in the name of 'President, All India Congress Committee' and 'Adyaksha Samajvadi Party'.

Future Gaming and Hotel Services of lottery king Martin, which was probed by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2022, has bought bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore -- all of Rs one crore denomination between October 2019 and January this year while Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure has bought bonds worth Rs 966 crore.

An analysis showed Meghal bought bonds worth Rs 156 crore just ahead of Telangana elections late last year while another Rs 180 crore was bought in January and April last year.

Lakshmi Mittal bought bonds worth Rs 35 crore while Mazumdar-Shaw bought Rs 7.8 crore worth bonds.

The data also showed Qwik Supply Chain Private Ltd buying bonds worth around Rs 410 crore, Vedanta Ltd Rs 400 crore, Haldia Energy Ltd Rs 377 crore and Bharati Group Rs 247 crore.

Other major buyers were Essel Mining and Industries Ltd Rs 224 crore, Western UP Power Transmission Rs 220 crore, Keventer Food Park Infra Ltd Rs 194 crore, Madanlal Ltd Rs 185 crore, DLF Group Rs 170 crore and Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital Rs 162 crore.

Spicejet, companies promoted by the promoter of IndiGo, Grasim Industries, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, Apollo Tyres, PVR, Keventer, Sula Wines, Sun Pharma, Jindal Group, CEAT tyres, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, ITC, Kaypee Enterprises, Cipla, and Ultratech Cement also bought bonds.

Of the 51 bonds bought by ITC, 15 were of Rs 1,000 denomination while six were of Rs 10,000 denomination.