At the BJP's headquarters in New Delhi, the mood was upbeat, with party workers cheering as TV channels reported the growing lead

In its response to an RTI filed by Pune-based Vihar Durve, SBI disclosed that electoral bonds worth over Rs 2,256 crore were issued in the month of April, which was up by 65.21 per cent from March month issue, at Rs 1,365.69 crore

Ahead of the general elections, the government in February had announced that electoral bonds will be sold in three tranches from March 1-15, April 1-20 and May 6-15

The money puts the BJP in an extraordinarily powerful position, even over logistical issues like how to get its leaders to election rallies

Electoral bonds were introduced by the Modi government as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties but the instrument is now at the centre of a controversy over allegations that it is not only skewed towards the ruling party, but flouts the concept of free and transparent elections

In an interim order, the apex court also directed all political parties to provide details of the amount and bank account of donors by May 30 to the poll panel.