Electoral bonds: ITC to Ambuja, 50 companies from Bengal contributed over Rs 1,600cr | India News
KOLKATA: Bengal Inc contributed over Rs 1,600 crore in electoral bonds floated to fund political parties. As per the list published by SBI, over 25 corporate houses – more than 50 companies – from the state contributed. There were also a lot of contributions in the names of individuals and a chunk of those, too, were from the state.
Well-known industrial and business houses that contributed include the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, ITC, Keventer Group, Rungta Group, Rashmi Group, Ambuja, Shyam Steel, IFB Group, Ripley,Shree Cement, Dhunseri Group, Utkarsh Group, Star Cement, WPIL, Tega Industries, Acropolis Maintenance, SKP Merchants, and Austin Plywoods.
The biggest contribution from Bengal came from Keventer Group (around Rs 600 crore) through group firms like Madanlal Ltd, MKJ Enterprises and Keventer Food Park. It was followed by RP Sanjiv Goenka Group with close to Rs 500 crore through group companies Haldia Energy, Dhariwal Infrastructure and Philips Carbon Black.
Keventer has a presence in food processing, real estate, and logistics, and is considered among the pioneers in food processing in eastern India.
The RP Saniv Goenka Group has a presence in the power, retail, entertainment, education, carbon black, sports, IT, and FMCG sectors. The third in the row is Rungta Sons, which contributed Rs 100 crore. Rungta Group is known for mining and steel and is among the oldest private mining entities in the country. IFB Group, founded by the recently deceased Bijon Bhushan Nag, was 4th with a contribution of Rs 92 crore through IFB Agro Industries. The group is involved in electronics, food processing and liquor. The Rs 40 crore that IFB Agro in Feb had declared it had paid to political parties through electoral bonds in the first nine months of financial year 2023-2024 is almost three times its after-tax profits of Rs 13.9 crore for the same period.
Rashmi Group was 5thwith a contribution of Rs 90 crore through two group companies, Rashmi Metaliks and Rashmi Cement Ltd. Rashmi Group, run by SK Patwari and his three sons, has a presence in steel and cement. WPIL, an engineering firm with a global presence, contributed Rs 22 crore through electoral bonds. The company has subsidiaries across the globe. Ripley & Co, a pioneer in stevedoring and handling in the eastern region and promoted by Swapan Sadhan Bose, contributed Rs 11.5 crore. A surprise entry, at No. 8, was Sengupta & Sengupta (P) Ltd, a consultancy firm that contributed Rs 10.7 crore. Trading firm SKP Merchants contributed Rs 8 crore and was in 9thposition. The last slot in the top 10 was occupied by Shree Cement with a contribution of Rs 7.5 crore. The Hari Mohan Bangur-promoted cement firm is among India’s top cement companies. The Utkarsh Group, involved in steel and other metals, gave Rs 7 crore, while ITC Ltd contributed Rs 6.5 crore. A relatively low-profile firm, Purulia Bottling, contributed Rs 5 crore. Another contributor wasParibartan Electoral Trust, a Kolkata-based entity with an office on the third floor of Birla Building; it paid Rs 1 crore in Oct 2023.
Well-known industrial and business houses that contributed include the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, ITC, Keventer Group, Rungta Group, Rashmi Group, Ambuja, Shyam Steel, IFB Group, Ripley,Shree Cement, Dhunseri Group, Utkarsh Group, Star Cement, WPIL, Tega Industries, Acropolis Maintenance, SKP Merchants, and Austin Plywoods.
The biggest contribution from Bengal came from Keventer Group (around Rs 600 crore) through group firms like Madanlal Ltd, MKJ Enterprises and Keventer Food Park. It was followed by RP Sanjiv Goenka Group with close to Rs 500 crore through group companies Haldia Energy, Dhariwal Infrastructure and Philips Carbon Black.
Keventer has a presence in food processing, real estate, and logistics, and is considered among the pioneers in food processing in eastern India.
The RP Saniv Goenka Group has a presence in the power, retail, entertainment, education, carbon black, sports, IT, and FMCG sectors. The third in the row is Rungta Sons, which contributed Rs 100 crore. Rungta Group is known for mining and steel and is among the oldest private mining entities in the country. IFB Group, founded by the recently deceased Bijon Bhushan Nag, was 4th with a contribution of Rs 92 crore through IFB Agro Industries. The group is involved in electronics, food processing and liquor. The Rs 40 crore that IFB Agro in Feb had declared it had paid to political parties through electoral bonds in the first nine months of financial year 2023-2024 is almost three times its after-tax profits of Rs 13.9 crore for the same period.
Rashmi Group was 5thwith a contribution of Rs 90 crore through two group companies, Rashmi Metaliks and Rashmi Cement Ltd. Rashmi Group, run by SK Patwari and his three sons, has a presence in steel and cement. WPIL, an engineering firm with a global presence, contributed Rs 22 crore through electoral bonds. The company has subsidiaries across the globe. Ripley & Co, a pioneer in stevedoring and handling in the eastern region and promoted by Swapan Sadhan Bose, contributed Rs 11.5 crore. A surprise entry, at No. 8, was Sengupta & Sengupta (P) Ltd, a consultancy firm that contributed Rs 10.7 crore. Trading firm SKP Merchants contributed Rs 8 crore and was in 9thposition. The last slot in the top 10 was occupied by Shree Cement with a contribution of Rs 7.5 crore. The Hari Mohan Bangur-promoted cement firm is among India’s top cement companies. The Utkarsh Group, involved in steel and other metals, gave Rs 7 crore, while ITC Ltd contributed Rs 6.5 crore. A relatively low-profile firm, Purulia Bottling, contributed Rs 5 crore. Another contributor wasParibartan Electoral Trust, a Kolkata-based entity with an office on the third floor of Birla Building; it paid Rs 1 crore in Oct 2023.
