- Registered unrecognised parties' declared incomes rose 223% in 2022-23 compared to previous years
- Over 73% of registered unrecognised parties failed to publicly disclose financial reports in 2022-23
- Gujarat parties declared Rs 1158.115 crore, over 70% of top 10 unrecognised parties' income
The declared incomes of registered unrecognised political parties witnessed a 223 per cent spike in 2022-23 and more than 73 per cent of these parties failed to publicly disclose their financial records, according to poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Its report analysed the status of submission of annual reports of a total of 739 (26.74 per cent) registered unrecognised parties across 22 states in India, whose either audit or contribution reports were available on the websites of respective state CEOs for the 2022-23 financial year.
The analysis showed that both annual audit and contribution reports of a significant 73.26 per cent or 2025 of the total registered unrecognised parties are not available in the public domain for FY 2022-23.
The maximum number of registered unrecognised parties, whose statements are available are in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Delhi and Bihar, given that these states have the highest number of registered unrecognised political parties.
States with zero reporting included Punjab (73 registered unrecognised parties), Uttarakhand (40) and Goa (12) are among the top three states where both audit and contributions reports of none of the registered unrecognised parties are available on the official websites.
Among the 739 registered unrecognised parties analysed in this report, both audit and contribution reports are available for 501 parties across 20 states. This is a mere 18.13 per cent of the total number of registered unrecognised parties.
The top compliant states are Gujarat (37.89 per cent), Bihar (36.41 per cent), Delhi (30 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (23.25 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (21.74 per cent) where either statement is available for the aforementioned percentages of total registered unrecognised parties in the state.
Gujarat (30.53 per cent), Delhi (21.67 per cent) and Bihar (18.48 per cent) demonstrate relatively higher levels of compliance compared to the national average in terms of the availability of both reports of registered unrecognised parties in the public domain.
Out of the top 10, five parties (50 per cent) are from Gujarat, indicating a concentration of unrecognized parties with high declared incomes in this state.
Gujarat parties collectively reported Rs 1158.115 crore in total income - over 70 per cent of the top 10 parties' income. The highest income was declared by Bharatiya National Janta Dal, Rs 576.458 crore.
Donations above Rs 20,000 account for a large share of total donations - e.g. New India United Party shows 100 per cent of donations as large donations (Rs 407.45 crore).
Many of the top earners were formed after 2015, reflecting a trend of newer parties rapidly mobilizing funds. These include Satyawadi Rakshak Party (2022), Jan Man Party (2021), Jan Sewak Kranti Party (2021) and New India United Party (2018) the ADR said.
Bharatiya National Janata Dal declared the highest total income of Rs 957.4454 crore (31.76 per cent of total) between the FY 2019-20 to 2023-24. The party witnessed a major jump in FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23, the report said.
Satyawadi Rakshak Party declared the second highest income of Rs 416.2337 crore, with sharp growth in FY 2022-23 (Rs 85.6779) and a massive Rs 330.5558 crore in FY 2023-24.
Gujarat-based parties alone account for 73.22 per cent (Rs 1158.1154 crore) of the top 10 parties' declared income of Rs. 1581.7517 crore.
Some parties report no or very less income in earlier years, but then suddenly report large sums in one or two fiscal years.
In terms of political finance disclosures, registered unrecognised parties are not far behind the recognised political parties. In most cases, the income and donations of only the top 10 registered unrecognised parties match that of the state parties. The total donations above Rs 20,000 declared by top 10 registered unrecognised parties exceeded that of the national and state parties for FY 2022-23.
The total income declared by the top 10 registered unrecognised parties was Rs 1581.7517 crore while the total donations declared was Rs 1581.66 crore for FY 2022-23. 99.99 per cent of income came from donations. Rs 1479.942 crore (93.56 per cent) came from donations above Rs 20,000.
National parties reported only 33 per cent (27.64) donations from large donors (donations above Rs 20,000), while the top 10 unrecognized parties reported a massive 93per cent from large donors.
This stark difference might suggest different reporting practices or dependence on fewer large donors by unrecognized parties. Regional parties reported the least large-donor concentration (14 per cent).
Aam Janmat Party jumps from Rs 8000 in FY 2020-21 to Rs 220.3676 crore in FY 2022-23. Similarly, Saurashtra Janta Paksha reported Rs 131.3107 crore from zero in the previous two fiscal years.
ADR has urged the ECI to strengthen regulatory oversight and take up regular scrutiny of unrecognised political parties, especially those declaring large donations but not contesting elections.
It also recommended that the ECI delist parties inactive for over five years, make financial disclosures mandatory before tax exemptions, and direct state CEO websites to publish updates within 24 hours of receiving financial statements.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
