EC releases fresh electoral bonds data, includes unique alphanumeric code

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Thursday published the complete electoral bond data submitted by the State Bank of India on the orders of the Supreme Court.

The frresh data includes alpha-numeric numbers that can help match the purchasers of the bonds with the political parties that encashed them.

The data also includes bond numbers that would enable donors to be matched with the political parties they donated to.

"In compliance with the Supreme Court's directions, SBI has provided data pertaining to electoral bonds to ECI today i.e. March 21, 2024. The ECI has uploaded it on its website as received from SBI on an 'as is where is basis'," the poll panel said in a statement on Thursday.

The two sets of data--552 pages of details of redemption by political parties and 386 pages of details of donors--cover electoral bonds purchased and redeemed from April 2019 until January 2024.

The fresh data was published by the poll panel on its website after the details were submitted by the State Bank of India earlier in the day, in compliance with a Supreme Court order.

The details of redemption by political parties include the serial number, date of encashment, name of the political party, last four digits of the account number, prefix, bond number, denomination, pay branch code and pay teller.

The State Bank of India was the only bank authorised to sell and redeem the bonds, which were first issued in March 2018 and were being sold until being declared null and void by the top court last month.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had directed SBI to disclose all electoral bond details, including the unique identification code, by March 21.

It had then asked the Election Commission to upload the details upon receipt from the SBI.

The SBI chairman, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court, submitted that the "prefix and the bond number is in fact the alphanumeric number".