Electoral bonds: The biggest bond buyers outspent their profits to donate to political parties

Some of the biggest contributors to political parties through electoral bonds seem to have given away a sizeable chunk of their earnings, with Future Gaming & Hotel Services Pvt Ltd —the biggest contributor — spending ₹1,368 crore between April 12, 2019 and Jan 24, 2024.

The kicker? Future only recorded a combined net profit of ₹215 crore for the last three years, putting its bond spending at more than six times its profits. Qwik Supply Chain, which donated the second-highest amount of money at ₹410 crore made a profit of only ₹110 crore, giving away 374% of its profits.

Future isn't the only company to outspend its coffers, though, with IFB Agro Industries and Haldia Energy among companies that donated over ₹50 crore despite only making just over twice that amount in profits.


IFB Agro Industries had combined net profits of ₹175 crore from 2019-2020 to 2022-2023, of which it donated ₹92 crore or 53%. Haldia Energy garnered combined net profits of ₹1,013 crore in the three years for which data is available and contributed ₹377 cr or about 37% of what it earned.

While the biggest donors have spent beyond their means, some others have not stretched themselves out, with firms like Dr Reddy's and Torrent Pharma contributing just under 1% of their profits, spending ₹50 crore or more.

Some companies bought bonds despite running in losses for the past four years, like Bharti Airtel and Navayuga Engineering, which contributed ₹198 crore and ₹55 crore, respectively.

Most of the big donors were in sectors like infrastructure, mining, and pharmaceuticals.