The ruling BJP redeemed over Rs 3,941.57 crore between March 2018 to May 22, 2019, according to a fresh set of data released by the Election Commission today.

That the BJP is the No. 1 recipient of poll bonds is a trend that was established since the inception of the scheme.

Indeed, the ruling BJP redeemed over Rs 3,941.57 crore between March 2018 to May 22, 2019, according to a fresh set of data released by the Election Commission today. And 77.4% of this (Rs 3,050.11 crore) flowed into the party’s coffers in March, April and May 2019, the three months in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls.

The Lok Sabha polls 2019 were announced on March 10 that year and counting of votes was done on May 23.

In all, the BJP has redeemed at least Rs 8,451.41 crore since launch of the scheme.

Along with Lok Sabha polls, there were Assembly polls for Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha as well.

The geography of the branches from where these bonds were issued, shows that BJP got money from across the country with major contributions from Mumbai (Rs 1,493.21 crore), Kolkata (Rs 1,068.91 crore) and New Delhi (666.08 crore).

In November-December 2018, there were Assembly polls in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Mizoram. BJP had lost MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and returned to the government in Bhopal after a defection in Congress.

Bonds redeemed during months of October and November 2018 showed that BJP received Rs 330.41 crore in total. The next tranche was opened in January 2019 and the party redeemed bonds worth Rs 173 crore.

It was the Lok Sabha polls that opened the tap.

The window opened in early March in 2019, just before Lok Sabha polls were announced and in March that year, BJP redeemed bonds valued at Rs 769.48 crore.

In April, when polling began, the BJP’s redemption surged to Rs 1572.93 crore and in May that year, the party redeemed bonds for Rs 707.70 crore.

Data also shows that Kolkata accounted for 27 per cent of the BJP’s total collections during the period March 2018 to May 2019, showing how this was emerging as its new battleground – it won an unprecedented 18 of the state’s 42 seats.

Over 38 percent of the BJP’s redemptions were of bonds from Mumbai and the party redeemed Rs 666.08 crore (17%) in New Delhi. From Hyderabad, where BJP has little presence, it redeemed Rs 106.26 crore.