The Election Commission’s list of 1,313 buyers of electoral bonds released on March 14 is dominated by companies. But 368 buyers are individuals, who collectively bought electoral bonds worth Rs 378 crore. Lakshmi Mittal, the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, leads the pack of individual donors
The top 10 individuals bought bonds worth Rs 172 crore – 45% of the total bought by individuals. They are businessmen spanning sectors like aviation, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and communication, though four of the 10 are fairly obscure.
1 Lakshmi Mittal
The 73-year-old steel magnate accounts for 9.2% of all electoral bonds bought by individuals, purchasing 35 bonds of Rs 1 crore each on April 8, 2019. This window of purchase was just ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Mittal, who lives in London, sparked a controversy after he made donations to the Labour Party in 2001 and 2007. The first time, he gave the party 125,000 pounds. The second time, he donated two million pounds,
2 Laxmidas Vallabh Asmita Mercha
The Reporters Collective identified “Mercha” as Laxmidas Vallabhdas Merchant and Asmita Merchant, who are “related to each other”. Merchant is the group controller at Reliance Industries. He bought electoral bonds of Rs 25 crore in November 2023. The report said he…
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