Donations through electoral bonds surged ahead of state assembly elections

Earlier this year, the Union government launched donations through electoral bonds — a financial instrument for citizens to make anonymous donations to political parties — in an attempt to cleanse political funding. Till date, over Rs 10 billion has been donated by citizens through electoral bonds and most of the donations came in October — ahead of the recently concluded assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Telangana.

Nearly 40 per cent of total funds mopped through electoral bonds came in October. Political parties enchased all but Rs 112 million worth of funds which went into the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. Here is a breakdown of donations received by political parties through electoral bonds in six phases so far: