Meet man whose company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 1200 crore, once small pipe-maker in…

Written By Ritik Raj | Updated: Mar 16, 2024, 07:48 PM IST

P.P. Reddy

A company owned by Pamireddy Pitchi Reddy has spent over ₹1,200 crore in political donations through electoral bonds. This makes them one of the largest buyers of electoral bonds.

In 1989, Pamireddy Pitchi Reddy established Megha Engineering Enterprises. His nephew, PV Krishna Reddy, later joined him in the business in 1991 and is currently in charge of the company. Despite having no prior business experience and coming from a family of farmers, P.P. Reddy successfully founded and built the company. In 2006, P.P Krishna Reddy renamed the company Megha Engineering & Infrastructures. In Hyderabad's Balanagar neighborhood, the company started made pipes for small municipal water projects before moving on to drinking and irrigation water projects in 1996. The company gradually moved its operations from the state of Telugu into the states of Rajasthan and Karnataka. From 2010 to 2018, MEIL experienced a significant surge in growth and diversification. The company entered new states, industries, and nations, and Megha's quick development propelled its revenues beyond $1 billion in 2014–15, $2 billion in 2016–17, and $3 billion in 2017–18.

On 15th March 2024, the Election Commission of India released data shared by State Bank of India (SBI) on electoral bonds causing an uproar across the country. The media heavily focused on the top two companies on the list - Future Gaming and Hotel Services and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL). MEIL made donations through electoral bonds worth Rs 966 crore between 2019 and 2023, making it the largest contributor. 

Additionally, companies associated with MEIL, such as Western UP Power Transmission Company Ltd, SPEC Power and Evey Trans Private Ltd, also made significant donations to political parties using electoral bonds. Overall, MEIL and its associated companies purchased electoral bonds worth over Rs 1200 crore. The use of electoral bonds has been controversial as it allows political parties to receive anonymous donations, leading to questions around transparency and accountability in the electoral process.