Of bonds plus trust.

"The electoral bond data provides revelations which everybody suspected for a long time: of a nexus between industry and politics, to the detriment of citizens." "One, the quid pro quo between political donations and award of government contract is out in the open," and two, "the proliferation of shell companies as a platform for the nifty routing of funds for political purposes." Mint. "One such opaque arrangement involved the use of small, nondescript group companies as pass-throughs, as the case of Kolkata-based Madanlal Ltd shows." "Madanlal Ltd bought electoral bonds for Rs 186 crore (Rs 1.86 billion)," "on 8 and 10 May 2019, preceding the last two stages of the 2019 general elections that saw voting for 118 seats, including 17 from West Bengal." Madanlal Ltd's total income in 2021-22 was just Rs 30 million. pressreader. So who did all that money go to? To the Trinamool Congress (TMC) which won 215 seats out of a total of 294 seats in the Assembly elections in 2021 or to the BJP which gained a whopping 74 seats for a total of 77 seats? wikipedia. In the general election of 2019 the BJP gained 16 seats while the TMC lost 12. wikipedia. Out of a total of Rs 165.18 billion worth of Electoral Bonds purchased, the BJP redeemed Rs 82.518 billion, which is just under 50%, while the Congress was a distant second with Rs 19.52 billion and the TMC third with Rs 17.05 billion. The Wire. At every step the State Bank of India (SBI), a public sector bank, has sought to delay releasing information on the bonds by releasing the minimum required so as not to earn the Supreme Court's (SC) ire. In 2018, investigative journalist Poonam Agarwal bought two bonds which revealed unique alphanumeric numbers under UV rays. The Wire. The SBI did not disclose the buyer and recipient of each unique number. The 5-judge bench of the SC ordered the chairman of SBI to file an affidavit by 5 pm on 21 March proving the alphanumeric and serial numbers of all bonds have been disclosed. TOI. Will the SBI link the buyer and recipient with each number or will it wait for another appeal and further waste of time? Surprisingly, the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Adish Aggarwala wrote a private letter to the Chief Justice DY Chandrachud pleading that releasing the names of donors may render companies vulnerable to victimisation. The judges dismissed it as "publicity-related". Who is he trying to protect? Meanwhile, an obscure electoral trust, "The Prudent Electoral Trust has raised $272 million since its creation in 2013, funneling roughly 75% of that to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Party." Reuters. Just three days back Mr Modi promised "anyone indulging in corruption will not be spared". India Today. "With an approval rating of 78%, PM Narendra Modi has once again emerged as the most popular leader in the world, a Morning Consult survey said." TOI. Which means 78% of Indians believe what Mr Modi says. What about the 22% who don't? Can they convince the Bhakts (DH)?