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Lok Sabha election 2024: World’s biggest poll kicks off as India begins voting - BBC News Lok Sabha election 2024: World’s biggest poll kicks off as India begins voting - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Voting is also underway in parts of Manipur, the north-eastern state hit by deadly ethnic violence since the summer of 2023. Electoral bonds, launched by PM Modi’s government in 2018, were aimed at cleaning up the murky financing of
Clashes between the majority Meitei group and the Kuki minority have routinely made headlines and thousands have been displaced and are living in relief camps. political parties.
The region usually has high voter turnout but many members from the two communities have indicated they may abstain in this election. But in February, the scheme, which allowed people and companies to make anonymous donations to parties, was banned by the Supreme Court. The judges called the scheme unconstitutional, saying it lacked transparency.
At 11am, the state had a 29.1% turnout, according to the Election Commission. The court also ordered the government-run
State Bank of India (SBI) to provide details of who bought these bonds and which party
received how much.
The BJP was the biggest
beneficiary of the scheme, securing almost half of the bonds worth 120bn
rupees donated between 2018 and 2024 - something that isn’t looking good on Mr Modi’s report
card.
Media
reports have linked many of the donations to companies that were being
investigated by government crime agencies, leading to accusations from the opposition that the government was using
investigating agencies for “extortion” – a charge several ministers have denied.
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