Election Commission wary of cash sources as anonymous funding peaks

Hyderabad: It has been observed that the highest amount of anonymous political funding through electoral bonds is raised a month or two before the elections. Between March and November in 2018, when Hyderabad was ranked as the third largest funder, bonds worth Rs 290.50 crore were raised. The maximum number of high-value bonds were sold in October and November, just before the State elections.

A similar trend has been observed once again, this time before the Lok Sabha polls. Over a span of only three months, SBI branches have raised bonds worth Rs 1,716 crore, signaling that the maximum amount of political donations are being made through this route. Hyderabad is among the 14 cities that have reported the heavy purchase of bonds.

Electoral bonds were first announced during the financial year 2017-18 and subsequently went for sale in 2018, in denominations ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore. Across the SBI branches, Rs 1,056 crore was raised through bonds in 2018. However, the money raised via bonds from January to March in 2019 has broken an entire year’s record.

As the funds flow from anonymous sources banks are not supposed to reveal the identity of the funders the Election Commission has raised concerns. “The high purchase of electoral bonds just before the beginning of elections indicates that a lot of money is being spent over electioneering. However, as it has been pointed out in the Election Commission’s affidavit to the Supreme court, bonds purchased do not bring any transparency to electoral funding. In fact, the method has made the flow of political funding murky,” said Mr Jagdeep Chhoka, a representative of the Association of Democratic Reform, an election watch body.

The Centre introduced the electoral bonds stating that it was an endeavour to cleanse political funding. However, critics argue that the anonymity of donors compromises the purpose.