Essel Mining gave Rs 174.5 cr electoral bonds to Biju Janata Dal

Essel Mining and Industries, owned by Aditya Birla group, has emerged as the single biggest contributor to Biju Janata Dal's electoral funds, providing Rs 174.5 crore to the political party, showed the data on electoral bonds released by the Election Commission.

Out of the total bond purchases of Rs 223.5 crore over several years, the company donated Rs 49 crore to BJP.

Essel Mining and Industries has extensive operations in Odisha which is being ruled by Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

The Odisha Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held from May 13 to June 1, this year.

Essel Mining & Industries Ltd is one of the country's leading iron ore mining companies and producer of noble ferro alloys. Located in the mineral-rich Barbil-Barajamda belt of Odisha, the company's calibrated iron ore lump and iron ore fines are the best quality available in the country, according to the company's website.

According to the data available on the website of the Election Commission, Essel Mining and Industries purchased bonds on October 20, 2020, April 5 and October 4, 2021 and July 1, 2022.

The company had donated Rs 49 crore via electoral bonds to BJP in April 2019.

The query sent to the company did not elicit response.

Essel Mining & Industries Limited (EMIL) is a diversified global mineral resource company.

As part of the USD 43 billion worth Aditya Birla Group, EMIL was set up in 1950. It is currently one of the country's leading mining companies that has also made forays into coal, dolomite and diamond mining.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)