The disclosure of electoral bonds data by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the State Bank of India (SBI) has added new ammunition to the Opposition’s arsenal ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, people aware of the matter said on Friday, adding that INDIA bloc parties devised plans to use the data to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Under the plan, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) wants to use the data to show that companies facing Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe donated heavy sums through electoral bonds, said the people quoted above. The second line of attack would focus on the possibilities of money laundering through bonds, said the people. The Congress and other Opposition parties will also attempt to corner the BJP over the Supreme Court’s order to scrap the scheme as unconstitutional.

The developments came a day after ECI uploaded the electoral bonds data a day before the deadline set by the Supreme Court in the high-profile case. The data showed that around 1,260 companies and individuals bought 22,217 bonds worth ₹12,155.51 crore between April 12, 2019 and February 15, 2024.

Read Here: What does Electoral Bond data published by the ECI tell us?

In this period, 20,421 bonds worth ₹12,769.09 crore were redeemed by 23 political parties, with the BJP leading the pack with a war chest of ₹6,061 crore (47.5% of total redeemed value), followed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with ₹1,610 crore (12.6%) and Congress with ₹1,422 crore (11.1%).

On Friday, a number of opposition parties criticised the BJP with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi dubbing the scheme as “the world’s largest extortion racket led by Prime Minister Modi”.

“At the heart of the concept (of EBs), is the ability of corporates to purchase electoral bonds anonymously. Look at this scale of corruption. You are using the entire infrastructure to indulge in corruption. the electoral bond was Modi’s brainchild and he had claimed to cleanse the system of political financing in the country, but actually he turned it into the biggest corruption scam in the world and a means of extorting money from the business and corporate houses,” Gandhi said.

Electoral bonds details: Bharti Airtel, Apollo, Lakshmi Mittal, Edelweiss, PVR, Sun Pharma among donors

He denied any link between contracts given by Congress government in Karnataka and the bonds. “Our government has come few months ago. We are not controlling ED, CBI, there is no correlation between contracts given by our governments and the bonds. The BJP made the entire system as extortion system where ED and CBI is extorting for BJP.”

While Gandhi indicated that the INDIA group “can have a discussion” on the EB data, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told HT “there will be coordination among INDIA parties” on how to raise the issues collectively even as the allies are fighting separately in many states. “It (EB data) is going to be our major plank. The manner in which the BJP made corruption as a part of the system has now boomeranged,” Yechury said.

He added that the issue would be linked with the common people’s problems. “The farmers are asking for minimum support price but the government is not making a law. You say no money, workers are asking for increments, youth asking for jobs and greater allocation but you are indulging in mega loot,” he said.

Electoral bonds: SC issues notice to SBI, says bond numbers not disclosed

The TMC, which couldn’t seal a seat-deal with the Congress in West Bengal and some other states, ruled out the possibility of coordination. But it too, raised similar questions. As TMC is one of major beneficiaries of the scheme, Bengal industry minister Shashi Panja said the party “followed all rules” and alleged that the BJP indulged in quid pro quo. “A big gaming company purchased huge amounts of electoral bonds. But under what circumstances? First, he was harassed by ED. Under pressure, he gave donation through electoral bonds. This is extortion,” she said.

In Nashik, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue of dubious donors. “Who are these people? Which companies are these? Why have so many companies donated only after ED, IT and CBI raids? Who exerted the pressure on such companies?”

Banuchandar Nagarajan, a BJP-leaning analyst, said the BJP will stress that its intentions were honourable in bringing white money into political funding. “No one has established any quid pro quo. All projects are selected through bidding and procurement happens through the GeM portal.”