The 29th tranche of electoral bonds was issued on Tuesday in anticipation of the upcoming assembly elections in five states.
The government’s decision follows closely behind the campaigning for the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram, which are scheduled to take place from November 7 to November 30. The vote counting is set to occur on December 3.
“Government of India has authorised State Bank of India (SBI), in the XXIX Phase of sale, to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches w.e.f. November 6-20, 2023,” the finance ministry had said in a statement.
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Electoral bonds have been introduced as a substitute for cash donations made to political parties, with the aim of enhancing transparency in political funding.
The initial sale of electoral bonds took place in March 2018.
Electoral bonds can be redeemed exclusively by an eligible political party through an authorized bank account, and the State Bank of India (SBI) is the sole authorized bank for issuing these bonds.
The authorized SBI branches for the issuance of electoral bonds are located in various cities, including Bengaluru, Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai.
According to the finance ministry, electoral bonds will remain valid for a period of 15 calendar days starting from their issuance date. If a bond is deposited after this validity period has expired, no payment will be made to the recipient’s political party.
“The electoral bond deposited by an eligible political party in its account shall be credited on the same day,” it added.
Indian citizens and entities incorporated or established within the country are eligible to buy electoral bonds.
Registered political parties that have secured not less than 1 per cent of the votes polled in the last Lok Sabha or legislative assembly elections are eligible to receive funding through electoral bonds, it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Updated: 06 Nov 2023, 12:11 PM IST