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Electoral Bonds and the Politics of Funding an Indian Election
India Votes 2024
Speakers
On the eve of the 2024 general election, electoral bonds have been thrust into the spotlight, representing a focal point in discussions surrounding political financing in India. These bonds, introduced as a means to ostensibly bring transparency to political funding, have instead been criticised for exacerbating the problem by allowing for anonymous and unrestricted donations to political parties. It leads to the question of what exactly the cost is of fighting an election and what it means for the future of India’s democracy.
In this session, Prof. Trilochan Sastry, founder-member of the Association for Democratic Reforms – a petitioner in the electoral bonds case in the Supreme Court, Brijesh Kalappa who has contested a state election and TM Veeraraghav who has covered politics for 25 years, will discuss elections, money and sources of funding in Indian politics. A Q&A session with the audience will follow.
This event is a part of BIC’s Election series.
Speakers
Trilochan Sastry
Prof. Trilochan Sastry is the Chairman, Founder Member and Trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms. He was formerly the Dean at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (from 2008 to 2011), and now, he is a faculty member in the Decision Sciences Area there. He is also the Founder & Secretary of the Centre for Collective Development (CCD) and the Founder of Farmveda.
Brijesh Kalappa
Brijesh Kalappa, is an advocate in the Supreme Court, Legal Advisor to the Government of Karnataka (with the rank of Minister of State) and Former Additional Advocate General, Haryana. He has had a sustained interest in public affairs even from his student years. He is a former journalist and has a wide range of interests including reading and travelling. On the professional front, he has worked with several legal luminaries on subjects of importance in civil, criminal, water and electoral laws and has individually represented governments, eminent individuals and major industrial houses. He was the spokesperson of the Indian National Congress for a decade until he joined the AAP to contest elections from Bengaluru’s Chickpet Assembly Constituency in 2023. He has since left AAP too.
T. M. Veeraraghav
T M Veeraraghav is a political affairs journalist who has worked with The Hindu, CNN News 18 and NDTV over the last 25 years.
