Electoral bonds: What we know so far, what we will know soon – and what we may never know

The floodgates have opened. After six years of secrecy surrounding who gave money to political parties through electoral bonds, information has finally started to come out on the orders of the Supreme Court of India.

However, the information is still partial – and confusing.

The Election Commission released one set of data on March 14, another on March 17 – and more is expected to come before March 21.

So what did each data set contain and what has it revealed?

Why is the data that is still to come out crucial?

Here is an explainer to help you navigate this big, developing story that could have far reaching implications in India. We start with some important background.

What are electoral bonds?

Before the Supreme Court struck them down as illegal on February 15, electoral bonds were paper instruments that anyone could buy from the State Bank of India and give to a political party, which could redeem them for money.

When the Modi government introduced the scheme in 2018, it claimed that electoral bonds would help clean up political finance in India by allowing donors to contribute money to parties anonymously.

Until then, political parties only had the option of accepting contributions above Rs 20,000 through regular bank cheques and transfers, and they had to mandatorily disclose...

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