Of Rs 5,851 cr electoral bonds, 80 pc redeemed in Delhi: RTI

Indore: Electoral bonds worth Rs 5,851.41 crore were bought by donors to fund political parties between March 2018 and May 2019, of which 80.6 per cent were redeemed in New Delhi, where the headquarters of major parties are located, reply to an RTI query has revealed.

Chandrashekhar Goud, an RTI activist based in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch, Sunday shared the information furnished by the State Bank of India (SBI) in response to his two queries.

Political parties sold electoral bonds worth Rs 874.50 crore in 10 phases in New Delhi to raise funds, but the value of bonds redeemed in the national capital was more than five times at Rs 4,715.58 crore, he said.

Electoral bonds worth Rs 1,782.36 crore were purchased in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, but only seven per cent of them worth Rs 121.13 crore were encashed there, Goud said.

Bonds worth Rs 1,389 crore were sold in Kolkata, but just 12 per cent of them worth Rs 167.50 crore were redeemed in the West Bengal capital, he added. Electoral bonds worth Rs 195 crore were sold in the Karnataka capital, Bengaluru, but just one per cent of them worth Rs 1.5 crore were redeemed there, Goud said.

In Hyderabad, bonds of Rs 806.12 crore value were sold, but worth Rs 512.30 crore were redeemed there, Goud said quoting the RTI reply.