IT Giants Donate to Political Parties via Electoral Bonds

19 Mar 2024 , 11:13 AM

IT and engineering services companies like Infosys, Cyient, and Zensar Technologies are reported to have made political donations through electoral bonds, as per data from the State Bank of India (SBI) submitted to the Election Commission of India.

Infosys contributed ₹1 Crore to Janata Dal (Secular) during the Karnataka elections in March 2018.

Cyient made the largest donation among the three companies, donating ₹10 Crore in two installments in November 2023. The recipients of this contribution have not been disclosed. Zensar Technologies donated ₹3 Crore to unspecified parties in May 2019 through electoral bonds.

While some political parties have begun sharing data on received amounts, only a few have disclosed the donor companies’ names.

SBI released documents on March 14 detailing companies’ contributions and the political parties benefiting from electoral bonds over the past five years, following a Supreme Court order.

Over the last five years, 24 political parties received a total of ₹12,769 Crore through electoral bonds.

BJP received the highest amount of electoral bond donations, totaling ₹6,986.5 Crore, followed by Trinamool Congress with ₹1,397 Crore.

Companies topping the list of donations include Future Gaming and Hotel Services, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd, and Qwik Supply Chain.

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