Are Indian companies apolitical? This label fits them not in the strictest sense, but due to an enduring reticence to be publicly associated with a political party. Open support by a company of one political party, even if it were ruling, is usually an invite for condemnation by another. There is no telling what a riled party will do when it returns to power.What if it is ruling a state where that company has business interests? It is not for nothing that Indian businesses prefer to be nonpartisan, at least in public. There are exceptions. Billionaire Gautam Adani is a well-known confidant of prime minister Narendra Modi, but that relationship is built on the proximity of two individuals rather than on the ideology of Modi’s party, the BJP And note how he is a constant fodder for attacks from the opposition Congress. Adani’s counterparts, the Ambani brothers, have been lavish in their praise of Modi. But these gentlemen showed a sense of occasion — they did so at investor meetings in Gujarat when Modi was chief minister. The Ambanis have also praised the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh at its investor summit. Even if a dyed-in-the wool communist like Manik Sarkar, chief minister of Tripura, were to hold such an event, don’t be surprised to hear the Ambanis compliment Sarkar as well.A great example of the political nonalignment of companies is the way they contribute to party coffers. Contribution reports for the 2013-14 financial year that the BJP and the Congress submitted to the Election Commission show that many companies have generously donated to both parties. Take auto parts maker Bharat Forge.The company donated Rs 2.5 crore to the Congress and Rs 1.5 crore to the BJP. Torrent Power and Torrent Pharmaceuticals, offshoots of the Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group, gave Rs 4 crore each to the BJP and Rs 1 crore each to the Congress. Non-banking financial company Infina Finance offered Rs 2 crore to the BJP and Rs 1 crore to the Congress. Mahindra Lifespaces, Birla Corp and National Engineering Industries Limited doled out Rs 1 crore each to the Congress and BJP.Satya Electoral Trust, created by the Bharti Airtel group in collaboration with seven other big businesses, including Hero MotorCorp, Interglobe Aviation and DLF, handed out Rs 41.37 crore to the BJP and Rs 36.5 crore to the Congress in 2013-14. These companies also furnished money to regional parties such as Shiromani Akali Dal, National Conference, RJD and NCP.As these examples show, companies take care to keep most, if not all, political parties happy (wonder what parties make of the varying amounts).Ergo, the announcement by the BJP on February 1 that 100 CEOs have joined the party was nothing short of extraordinary. Newspapers, news websites and TV channels picked up the news because it seemed unprecedented and significant, coming as it did a week before the Delhi assembly elections. The reports were based on a press statement by the party which declared: “Over 100 CEOs became members of the BJP.” News agency Press Trust of India said it was probably the first time top private executives joined a political party en masse. The Times of India said the event “would showcase the business-friendly image of the BJP”. In case the significance was lost on readers, the website of India TV reminded them that 100 corporate honchos joined the BJP “on a single day”.“The Bharatiya Janata Party is not only a party but a family,” the statement quoted party president Amit Shah, excerpting a speech he delivered that day. So “corporate leaders today aren’t joining the party but a family”, he said.No doubt the event, as the accompanying photos show, took place on the said date at the BJP headquarters, 11 Ashoka Road, in New Delhi. The person responsible — and duly credited — for the event was Anurag Thakur, president, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP.Thakur, 40, is the son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, the former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. A rising star in the party, he wears many hats. He is an MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh and heads a parliament panel on information technology. Thakur is also the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the game’s governing body in India.Thakur addresses people from the corporate world joining a political party by the acronym Pace, or, Professionals, Administrators, CEOs and Entrepreneurs. He said not many professionals have joined parties, though social media has given them an avenue to react and express views. “That means people are willing to contribute to parties. They can guide parties on many issues,” he said, explaining why he organised the event.The event was an induction ceremony, said Thakur. “The response has been huge after the event.” Despite his clout, Thakur alone could not have organised the event. He had help — from a man named Kapil Kumria, who runs Corporate Alliance Group, which describes itself as diversified conglomerate that has interests in corporate travel, event management and real estate. There is no reason to doubt Kumria’s own induction into the BJP. Kumria said he and his family have always been firm believers of the principles and ideologies of BJP. He is also part of the central committee of the Overseas Friends of BJP.Kumria said the February 1 event was hardly routine. “This was a special event conceptualised by me under the leadership of Mr Anurag Thakur,” he said. The event was initiated, he said, because the ideologies and principles of “our PM would be effective in the growth of the corporate world”. On how he managed to get 100 CEOs to not only attend but also join the BJP, he said it was easy. “I have been in the industry for more than two decades and have my contacts with various corporate leaders.” And many of the leaders who participated believe in the vision of the PM, he said.So far so good. Things get confusing hereon. On Tuesday, Kumria said by phone (he was still in Canada) that 120 corporate leaders attended the event and 100 of them joined the BJP. He promised he would share the list of the CEOs. On Friday, an assistant of Kumria said it would be difficult to provide such a list because actually only 100 people had attended the event.Thakur too said his office will send the list of 100 CEOs, but it was yet to come at the time of going to press. Efforts to get in touch with the “CEOs who became BJP members” — all the names mentioned in the party statement — also threw up puzzling results (see “CEOs” who …). A colleague of Pervaiz Alamgir Khan said he was no CEO, but a station manager. A statement by Lufthansa said the correct designation is chief security officer. Khan said he is not affiliated to any political party.Henry Moses, the country head of Qatar Airlines (the BJP statement got the name and designation correct), and Anil Parashar of Interglobe Technologies (he is actually president and CEO of InterGlobe Technology Quotient) declined comment. But the public relations representatives of their companies said there was a miscommunication about the nature of the event and they have not joined any party. “Neeta Agarwal of AT&T” is a legal counsel for the company. She did not comment for this article.Efforts to reach Jagpreet Lamba of AIKON Group were futile; the company has no website or phone numbers listed. ET Magazine did not try to reach Dr Naveen Talwar and Rajeev Tyagi whom the BJP statement rightly describes as professionals.Companies such as SpiceJet, UTC and KPMG whose “top executives” the BJP said attended the event were not thrilled by the publicity blitz that ensued. A person familiar with the operations of budget airline SpiceJet said his understanding was that it was a ‘BJP event’ and not a ‘joining BJP event’. “Only one person attended and he said it was nothing like what was reported,” said the person asking not to be named. The person said the airline did not approve of the BJP press statement. “We were all surprised by the reports.”Another executive of a company who spoke on the guarantee that neither his nor his company’s names are mentioned too said they were taken aback by the news reports of the event. “We are an apolitical organisation. Some executives went in their personal capacity. Why did the BJP have to drag the name of the organisation?”A spokesman for UTC, a multinational that has interests in defence, aerospace and building industries, said the event was only a platform to speak to the party — “so that our views reach the government”.There is some merit in this observation. Shah largely spoke about economic and business matters at the event. The BJP statement quoted him as saying he is confident that the goods and services tax reform would be a reality from April 2016. “Elaborating on the steps taken by the BJP government like Make in India, land acquisition ordinance, mines ordinance to change business climate and restore business confidence, Shri Shah said the perception of country is fast changing in the globe and it will be again riding on the high growth path in the next couple of years,” said the statement.Thakur and Kumria said if the people whom the BJP statement named as party members are now in denial, it is because of the policies of their companies. “Their reluctance (to be publicly associated with the BJP) is only because of the mandate from their companies and HR policies,” said Kumria.Is that true? Here is what the Lufthansa statement said: “It goes without saying that Lufthansa employees as members of the civil society are free to make use of their constitutional rights. This is a purely personal choice of the individual and holds no bearing on the company.” Other companies mentioned in the BJP statement echoed this statement.The question mark over “CEOs becoming BJP members” comes in the wake of the BJP claiming earlier this week that it has crossed the 10-crore membership mark to become the largest party in the world. That claim also raised eyebrows after news reports quoted people saying they became “members” after receiving automatic calls or text messages.Kumria was defiant though. “These people came to a public event at the BJP headquarters. It is clear that they are aligned to the PM’s and BJP’s vision.” Maybe. But that does not mean they joined the BJP.