Ban on India’s electoral bonds: How will it affect coming elections?

While transparency advocates and opposition leaders say ban is a big win for democracy, Modi’s BJP dominates other political funding and remains confident ahead of national elections.

New Delhi, India — The Indian Supreme Court verdict on Thursday scrapping an opaque, election funding system has set off powerful tremors in the country’s politics, with transparency advocates arguing that it could expose those involved in a controversial form of political financing ahead of national elections.

Opposition leaders say the judgement represents a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, whose government introduced the electoral bonds scheme seven years ago and which battled long and hard in the top court to defend the funding mechanism.

But the BJP itself has insisted that the court order will not affect its chances in the coming elections, expected between March and May, in which Modi is aiming to secure a third straight term in office.

Electoral bonds, introduced by the BJP in 2017, allowed individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits. A five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, observed that the “political contributions give a seat at the table to the contributor” and that “this access also translates into influence over policymaking”.

The Supreme Court described the scheme as “unconstitutional”. It also directed the state-run State Bank of India (SBI) to halt issuing the bonds, furnish identity details of those who bought them, and provide information about bonds redeemed by each political party. The information will be made public on the website of the Election Commission of India. The SBI is the only organisation