Electoral bonds for sale from today, sale window open till April 12
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New Delhi: As announced earlier by the Union Finance Ministry, the issuance of electoral bonds meant to fund any political party has started from today (April 3) ahead of the Karnataka Assembly election. The window will remain open for the sale for ten days till April 12 at 29 authorised branches of the State Bank of India (SBI).
Under the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018, any Indian citizen or corporate can purchase bonds to donate to a political party that has established an exclusive electoral bond account with SBI. These bonds will remain effective for 15 days from the date of issue.
On March 29, the Election Commission of India released the schedule for the Karnataka polls, with polling scheduled for May 10 and counting of votes on May 13.
Since the start of the scheme in 2018 until the most recent tranche, SBI has sold Rs 12,008.59 crore in electoral bonds, with political parties redeeming Rs 11,984.91 crore.
The sale of electoral bonds takes place in four 10-day periods in January, April, July, and October each year, as well as an additional window of up to 30 days during Lok Sabha elections. In November 2022, the finance ministry amended the scheme to include a 15-day sale window during any Assembly election year.