NEW DELHI: The complete data set of electoral bonds released on Thursday by the Election Commission of India (ECI) shows the first choice of political donation for mining and infra giants is the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Centre followed by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government of Odisha. The data, submitted to ECI by The State Bank of India (SBI) showed that electoral bonds purchased and encashed benefitted the ruling governments of different states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.Telangana-based Megha Engineering’s first choice of donating its electoral bond was BJP (519 crore) followed by the ruling party Bharat Rashtra Samiti (Rs 150 crore). The company got controversial infrastructure tenders across the country and was accused of environmental regulation violations. One of the major controversial projects is the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project and the ongoing Zojila tunnel. An initial analysis shows that major mining and infra companies faced local resistance for violating environmental and social regulations.
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