Reports on electoral-bond data released by India’s Election Commission named Future Gaming and Hotel Services, companies in the Megha group and Vedanta among the biggest buyers. The figures differ by outlet: Scroll’s initial analysis on 14 March 2024 reported ₹1,368 crore for Future Gaming and ₹386 crore for Vedanta, while Business Standard’s 22 March report gave ₹1,365 crore and ₹400 crore respectively. These are dated, source-specific reported figures—not a reconciled or current ranking.
Who were the top buyers of electoral bonds?
The figures below come from two analyses of electoral-bond data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Supreme Court’s disclosure order covered bonds purchased from 12 April 2019 through 15 February 2024. The outlets’ reported totals and grouping methods differ, so the figures should be read as separate accounts, not combined into a definitive league table.
| Buyer or group | Scroll, 14 March 2024 | Business Standard, 22 March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Future Gaming and Hotel Services | ₹1,368 crore | ₹1,365 crore |
| Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) | ₹966 crore, included within Scroll’s ₹1,186 crore Megha group total | ₹966 crore |
| Western UP Power Transmission Company | ₹220 crore, included within Scroll’s ₹1,186 crore Megha group total | not stated in this report |
| Megha group | ₹1,186 crore, comprising MEIL and Western UP Power Transmission Company | not stated as a group total in this report |
| Vedanta Limited | ₹386 crore | ₹400 crore |
Scroll’s figures are from its 14 March initial analysis; Business Standard’s are from its 22 March report. The reports do not give identical totals for Future Gaming or Vedanta. Their figures should not be averaged, silently substituted for one another or presented as a reconciled ranking without checking the underlying records and explaining the aggregation method.
How much did Future Gaming, Megha and Vedanta buy?
Future Gaming and Hotel Services
Scroll reported ₹1,368 crore for Future Gaming and Hotel Services in its 14 March 2024 analysis. Business Standard reported ₹1,365 crore on 22 March. “Lottery king” is a media nickname used in coverage for the company’s founder, Santiago Martin; it is not an official designation.
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Megha Engineering and the wider Megha group
Both reports put Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) at ₹966 crore. Scroll separately described a ₹1,186 crore Megha group total, adding ₹220 crore attributed to Western UP Power Transmission Company. The group figure is therefore not interchangeable with MEIL’s individual total.
Vedanta
Scroll reported ₹386 crore for Vedanta Limited, while Business Standard reported ₹400 crore. The available reports do not establish which total is definitive.
Why the totals and rankings need careful reading
- Publication date matters. Scroll’s initial analysis appeared on 14 March 2024; Business Standard’s account appeared on 22 March. These are snapshots of reporting on released records, not a live or newly updated 2026 ranking.
- Company and group are different units. MEIL’s ₹966 crore figure is a named legal entity’s total; Scroll’s ₹1,186 crore is a broader Megha group figure that includes Western UP Power Transmission Company.
- Buying and encashing are different events. The court-ordered data covered both purchases by bond buyers and redemptions by political parties. A buyer’s purchase total is not the amount a particular party received.
- Buyer totals do not identify a single recipient. None of the buyer figures above means that the entire amount went to one political party. Determining recipients requires matching purchase and redemption records.
Business Standard reported ₹12,145.87 crore as the total amount encashed via electoral bonds in its account of the released data. That is an encashment total, not a total for any one buyer or party.
What the Supreme Court ordered and why the data became public
On 15 February 2024, the Supreme Court declared the Electoral Bond Scheme and specified amendments made by the Finance Act 2017 unconstitutional. It held that nondisclosure of information about political-party funding violated citizens’ right to information under Article 19(1)(a), and that corporate-funding provisions permitting unlimited political contributions were arbitrary and violated Article 14.
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In its 11 March 2024 order implementing the judgment, the Court stated: “By a judgment dated 15 February 2024, this Court declared the Electoral Bond Scheme and the provisions of the Finance Act 2017 which amended the provisions of the Representation of People Act 1951 and the Income Tax Act 1961, unconstitutional on the ground that the non-disclosure of information regarding the funding of political parties is violative of the right to information of citizens under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.”
The Supreme Court directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide purchase and redemption information to the ECI. On 21 March 2024, the ECI said it had uploaded the received material on an “as is where is basis.” The disclosure period specified in the Court’s order was 12 April 2019 through 15 February 2024. The ECI’s electoral-bond disclosure page hosts the released material; the Supreme Court’s 11 March 2024 order sets out the disclosure directions.
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What these buyer figures do—and do not—show
The reported amounts identify large buyers in analyses of the disclosed bond data. By themselves, they do not establish why a company bought bonds, which party ultimately received each amount, or wrongdoing by a buyer. A complete buyer-to-recipient accounting requires reconciling purchase records with party redemptions; the outlet totals above are not such an audit.
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