Electoral Bonds: Essel Mining Is Biggest Donor For Ruling BJD In Odisha; Check The Top 10 List

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the ruling party of Odisha, got more than half of its electoral bond donations from three mining and steel companies, according to latest data released by the Election Commission.

Of the Rs 775 crore redeemed from 42 donors from April 12, 2019, to January 2024, Rs 175 crore is from Essel Mining, followed by Rs 100 crore from Jindal Steel and Power Limited and Rs 70 crore from Utkal Alumina International Limited.

The other top donors include Rungta Sons (Rs 50 crore), S N Mohanty group (Rs 45 crore), Rashmi Cement (Rs 45 crore), Vedanta Ltd (Rs 40 crore), Penguin Trading and Agencies Ltd (Rs 30.5 crore), and Jindal Stainless (Rs 30 crore),

Rashmi Metaliks, which is 10th on the list of donors, gave Rs 27 crore.

Rashmi Cement & Rashmi Metaliks are part of part of the Rashmi Group, which has iron and steel companies as well.

The Iron Ore Beneficiation & Pelletization Plant (IoBP) of EMIL is located at Basantpur in Odisha’s Keonjhar. It previously operated in the iron ore mineral rich Jamda–Koira valley belt in Sundargarh district. A leading alumina refinery, Utkal operates in the Rayagada district of Odisha. It comprises a 2.12MTPA alumina refinery, captive Baphlimali bauxite mines of 8MTPA with valid lease title up to February 2048, and a captive co-generation power plant of 90MW along with a 5MW solar power plant, according to the company website.

The JSPL operates a 6 MTPA integrated steel plant in Odisha’s Angul district. It commissioned a 6 MTPA hot strip mill at its steel manufacturing facility in January last year. It is ramping up the capacity of the Odisha plant to 11.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from the existing 5.6 MTPA. The company also has a plan to further double it up to 24 MTPA, making it the world’s largest single-location steel plant.

In electoral bond donations, the BJD ranked fifth after the BJP, Congress, TMC and BRS.