POV: V.V.S. MANIAN
PM Modi writing a letter to millions of fellow countrymen saying that he would continue the good work after the election is welcome. The BJP already assumed that it would sweep the Lok Sabha, which is almost certain. Many in the opposition parties have been proven to be corrupt and desperately trying to assemble an army to fight the BJP under a psychotic leader. It is a pity that in a democracy, we are struck with one family that ruined India as the principal opposition. They are now making a big noise about the fat contributions of shady companies to BJP election and party funds. The BJP will perhaps give a fitting reply after Modi assumes office in 2024.
The EC has released the figures of electoral bond purchases made by SBI between April 2019 and February 2024. It is clear from the EB that the top five bond-buying companies bought large amounts of bonds in the months after the income tax and enforcement agencies probes or raids were launched against them. San Diego Martin, known as “Lottery King” and owner of Future Gaming and Hotels Pvt Ltd, is the top bond buyer. His company has purchased electoral bonds worth Rs. 1,368 crore. Since 2011, Mr. Martin and his company have been subject to several investigations on suspicion of unpaid income tax, money laundering, and fraud. Martin has been under the scrutiny of central agencies, including the ED and the Income Tax Department. In 2023, ED froze assets of the Company worth about ₹ 457 crore. It is alleged that the company has made black money of Rs. 910.30 crores by printing lotteries in large quantities without the knowledge of the prize money in the lottery and the state government. (An alleged loss of over ₹ 900 crore to the Sikkim government by way of a fraudulent lottery sale in Kerala.). Martin is alleged to have fooled thousands of lottery buyers.
In October 2019, when the Ministry of Home Affairs filed a case to take action against Future Gaming, it immediately started buying electoral bonds. According to the data released by the commission, the company first purchased Rs. 190 crores in October 2020 and then bought another Rs. 13,000 crore of additional electoral bonds in the period 2019–2024.
Megha Engineering is the second-largest donor, with Rs 1,000 crores. It is associated with the construction of major infrastructure projects like the Telangana government’s Kalershwam Dam, Zozilla Pass, and the Rs 14,400 crore project connecting Thane and Borivali in Mumbai. P.P. Reddy and Krishna Reddy’s company is also said to be linked as a promoter to a private news network linked to the media.
In October 2019, following an ED probe and an income tax raid, Megha Engineering’s Rs. 50 crore bond purchases started, and then it appears in the bank’s list as a continuous buyer. Most of the other buyers have for some reason or other contributed to the political parties. But the serious of the lot is the contribution of Future Gaming. It has its base in Coimbatore and has too much money which it can use to buy any political party to avoid criminal prosecution and punishment.
Now, Modi’s biggest road show is scheduled for March 18. It will be a big start after the announcement of the election date. Modi is expected to give a boost and improve the vote share to Annamalai’s expectation of 25 percent. The mighty rally of the BJP is starting in the home ground (Coimbatore) of the highest donor to the BJP. Sheer coincidence.
