National News Special Reports

What TNM-NL Won’t Disclose In Their ‘Project Electoral Bond’

March 27, 2024
The Commune

Since the Supreme Court ruling on 11 February 2024, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has disclosed comprehensive details regarding the purchases of electoral bonds, including information on donors, amount donated, and recipients. Consequently, a wave of commotion erupted, with political parties pointing fingers at each other regarding who has benefited more.

Furthermore, media outlets with aligned ideologies, such as Newslaundry and The News Minute, have come under scrutiny for selectively focusing on donations received by the BJP while neglecting to highlight contributions to the I.N.D.I alliance parties in an attempt to peddle a favourable narrative to them.

What the news media and the journalists who are purportedly leaning with the I.N.D.I Alliance fail to disclose regarding the Electoral Bonds is exemplified by the case of IFB Agro Industries Ltd, a distillery and bottling company situated in Kolkata.

IFB Agro Industries Ltd

In June 2020, IFB Agro Industries Ltd made a public announcement through the National Stock Exchange concerning the temporary shutdown of its Noorpur facility in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, due to an assault by approximately “150 armed individuals“. The company expressed frustration at the perceived ineffectiveness of law enforcement in addressing the situation. Notably, the affected distillery unit fell within the jurisdiction of the Diamond Harbour constituency, represented by Abhishek Banerjee, who is the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

By December 2020, IFB Agro, in a regulatory filing, lamented that despite seeking assistance from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and key ministers responsible for finance, commerce, and industry in the state, no perpetrators had been apprehended.

In January 2021, the company’s third-quarter financial results highlighted the challenges faced by its alcohol business in West Bengal, citing pressure from certain excise officials who were allegedly making unlawful demands and targeting IFB Agro.

In October 2021, IFB Agro disclosed its decision to allocate funds for political party contributions through Electoral Bonds, citing the company’s interests and the ongoing challenges it encountered. Initially capped at ₹25 crore, this contribution was later increased to ₹40 crore, as reiterated in an April 2022 stock exchange filing.

In a filing to the stock exchange on 1 April 2022, IFB Agro Industries Ltd announced that, with the utmost consideration for the company’s welfare and the interests of all its stakeholders, the board has sanctioned contributions to political parties. These contributions would be made through subscriptions to electoral bonds, amounting to a total of up to ₹40 crore for the fiscal year 2023. Additionally, the board deliberated on matters pertaining to excise that have been impacting the company. In total, IFB Agro Industries invested ₹92 crore in Electoral Bonds, with a significant portion, ₹42 crore, directed towards the Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal. This scenario depicts a clear instance of coercion and bullying orchestrated by regulatory bodies and local individuals affiliated with political groups. The implication is that in order for the company to conduct business smoothly, they are expected to make financial contributions to the political parties operating within the state.

Avees Trading And Finance Pvt Ltd

In another instance, Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, has been notably silent on the matter of Electoral Bonds. However, there seem to be compelling reasons behind this silence. A Kolkata-based company named Avees Trading and Finance Pvt Ltd has emerged as a significant player in this context. Despite being incurring financial losses, Avees purchased Electoral Bonds worth ₹112.5 crore. The primary beneficiaries of these bonds were the Congress party (receiving ₹53 crore) and the Trinamool Congress (receiving ₹45.5 crore). Notably, Avees also contributed ₹10 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party, ₹3 crore to the Biju Janata Dal, and only ₹1 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Interestingly, Avees Trading, despite its financial downturn, engaged in substantial transactions involving Electoral Bonds. For instance, in the fiscal year 2019-20, it faced a loss of ₹51.7 crore but still purchased Electoral Bonds worth ₹24 crore. Similarly, in 2022-23, Avees bought bonds worth ₹13 crore despite incurring a loss of ₹29.1 crore.

What raises eyebrows is the fact that loss-making companies like Avees had contributed sizable sums to political parties such as the INC and TMC. This prompts questions about the nature and motives behind such contributions. Will Mamata Banerjee provide an explanation for this apparent contradiction? Furthermore, it beckons the attention of news agencies like The News Minute and Newslaundry, who have been vocal about the issue of Electoral Bonds, to scrutinize these dubious transactions.

Avees Trading, headquartered in Kolkata, is a company with opaque operations with no website on its name. Its registered office is situated on Waterloo Street, a location notorious for housing numerous companies that share the same registered address. The company, led by three directors – Bhal Chandra Khaitan, Ramesh Kumar Saraogi, and Mahesh Kumar Dhanuka – has drawn attention due to its involvement in significant financial transactions despite its directors’ affiliations with various industries.

Portals like TNM seem to willfully propagate the claim that the companies subjected to ED and CBI raids donated to BJP through Electoral Bonds. Upon examination by The Indian Express, total bonds purchased by these companies from April 2019 to February 2024 amounted to ₹5,179 crore. Contrary to the assertion, it was found that the parties benefitting from these donations included BJP, which secured the bonds purchased by these companies, as well as other ruling parties such as TMC (18.29%), DMK (11.35%), BJD (4.48%), and BRS (8.59%). The Congress, governing in three states, received 11.97%. This indicates BJP got only 37% and Opposition Parties got 63%, This distribution clearly illustrates that there is no direct correlation between CBI and ED raids and the Electoral Bonds donated to political parties.

Between April 2019 and February 2024, these 26 companies bought ₹700.65 crore in bonds before facing agencies’ actions and ₹4,479.6 crore after. Notably, ten of these companies each donated at least ₹100 crore. For instance, Future Gaming, a top donor owned by Santiago Martin (Lottery Martin), did not purchase any electoral bonds until a year after facing an ED probe for alleged money laundering. Surprisingly, it purchased bonds worth ₹503 crore favouring the DMK and ₹542 crore favouring the TMC, with only ₹100 crore going to the BJP. This challenges TNM’s claim that companies only purchased bonds after coming under central agencies’ scrutiny, as the funds were distributed to state parties like TMC and DMK not wholly to the BJP.

In July 2019, the Enforcement Directorate seized assets of a company valued at more than ₹250 crore following the commencement of a money laundering investigation earlier that year. Future Gaming entered the electoral bond arena in October 2020, directing all purchases until October 2021 to the DMK, YSRCP, and TMC. It only began acquiring bonds favouring the BJP in October 2021, initially investing ₹50 crore, and repeating the same amount in January 2022.

On 2 April 2022, the Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth ₹410 crore. Subsequently, the company procured ₹100 crore in bonds favouring the DMK not to the BJP. In July 2022, it acquired ₹25 crore in bonds favouring the TMC and ₹50 crore favouring the DMK and not the BJP.

Therefore, the assertions made by these news outlets seem to be aimed at garnering approval from their political superiors rather than portraying the truth.

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