Fact Check: Exaggerated Claims About Electoral Bond Donations Received By Political Parties Are Misleading
The viral post on social media is misleading. The donations received by various parties, including the BJP, through electoral bonds are being exaggerated, almost doubling the actual figures.
- By: Sharad Prakash Asthana
- Published: Mar 20, 2024 at 11:54 AM
- Updated: Mar 29, 2024 at 11:45 AM
New Delhi (Vishvas News): A recent post on social media has gone viral following the release of data by the Election Commission of India on electoral bonds. The post falsely claims that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received Rs 11,500 crore, Trinamool Congress (TMC) received Rs 3,214 crore, Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) received Rs 2,278 crore, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) received Rs 1,550 crore, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) received Rs 1,230 crore, and YSR Congress Party (YSR) received Rs 662 crore.
In its investigation, Vishvas News found these claims to be misleading. According to the data released by the Election Commission of India, the actual figures are as follows: BJP received Rs 6,060 crore, TMC received Rs 1,609 crore, BRS received Rs 1,214 crore, BJD received Rs 775 crore, DMK received Rs 639 crore, and YSR received Rs 337 crore. Posts circulating online suggesting that election donations received by various parties have nearly doubled are inaccurate.
What Is Going Viral
The user has requested to tell the truth by sending this post to Vishvas News tipline number +91 95992 99372. It is written in it,
Political parties, Number of States they rule, Total Donation via Electoral Bonds.
BJP : Center and 18 States : 11500 Cr
TMC : 1 State : 3214 Cr
BRS : 1 State : 2278 Cr
BJD : 1 State : 1550 Cr
DMK : 1 State : 1230 Cr
YSR : 1 State : 662 Cr
Divide 11,500 by 18. 638.888……..The LEAST donation by average
Electoral Bonds per Lok Sabha MP and Party Wise in last 5 years
BJP: 20.03 crore/MP
Cong : 27.3 crore/MP
AITC : 73.68 crore/MP
BJD: 70.5 crore/MP
DMK : 79.69 crore/MP
BRS : 200.43 crore/MP
YSR : 20.13 crore/MP
TDP : 110.3 crore/MP
Hope this will give you better clarity…
And, yes, Adani or Ambani donated nothing, absolutely nothing!!
Don’t you think bringing these figures in the public domain, a typical Modi’s master stroke.
Facebook user Yashwant Pagnis (archive link) also posted this claim on March 16.
Investigation
To verify the viral claim, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords. An article (archived link) from Dainik Bhaskar’s website reported that the Election Commission had disclosed details of electoral bonds on its site. According to this information, the BJP received Rs 6,060 crore, the TMC received Rs 1,609 crore, the Congress received Rs 1,421 crore, the BRS received Rs 1,214 crore, the BJD received Rs 775 crore, the DMK received Rs 639 crore, and the YSR received Rs 337 crore.
Similarly, The Hindu (archived link) reported that the BJP encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 6,060.5 crore, constituting over 47.5% of the total redeemed bonds. The TMC redeemed bonds worth Rs 1,609.50 crore (12.6%), the Congress Rs 1,421.9 crore (11.1%), the BRS 9.5%, the BJD 6.1%, and the DMK 5%.
The Association for Democratic Reform’s (ADR) report also reflects the donations received by political parties through electoral bonds.
These findings indicate that the donations received by the parties have been exaggerated in the viral post. Additionally, statements from MPs suggest that the details provided are incorrect.
Dainik Jagran’s National Bureau chief, Ashutosh Jha, stated that the BJP received approximately Rs 6,000 crore in donations. A misleading claim is circulating on social media.
Scroll’s report (archived link) clarified that Reliance Industries did not purchase any electoral bonds. However, companies linked to the Reliance Group through common directors, addresses, and associates are on the list. Quick Supply Chain Private Limited bought electoral bonds worth Rs 410 crore. Tapas Mitra, one of the three directors of the company, is also a director in Reliance Oil and Petroleum, Reliance Eros Production, Reliance Photo Films, Reliance Fire Brigades, and Reliance Polyester. A Reliance spokesperson told PTI that Quick Supply Chain Private Limited is not part of the Reliance Group. The report also states that there is no initial evidence to suggest that Adani and the Tata Group purchased electoral bonds.
Reuters’ report (archived link) also mentions Quick Supply Chain’s purchase of electoral bonds and includes Reliance’s statement, clarifying that Quick Supply Chain is not affiliated with Reliance.
We reached out to Reliance via email regarding this matter. A Reliance spokesperson stated that Quick Supply Chain Private Limited is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity.
According to a Hindustan Times report from January 31, 2024 (archived link), following Bihar’s inclusion, the BJP governs 17 out of 28 states either independently or as a coalition member. The BJP had won 303 seats in the 2019 general elections.
We examined the Facebook user’s profile who made the misleading claim. The user, based in Mumbai, has approximately 5,600 followers.
Conclusion: The viral post on social media is misleading. The donations received by various parties, including the BJP, through electoral bonds are being exaggerated, almost doubling the actual figures.
- Claim Review : BJP has received donations of Rs 11500 crore through electoral bonds.
- Claimed By : FB User- Yashwant Pagnis
- Fact Check : Misleading
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