New Delhi: As many as 1,330, or 65 per cent, of the total registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) in India did not have their annual audit and contribution reports available in the public domain for FY 2024-25, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Of the 734 (35 per cent) remaining parties covered by the report’s overall figures, reports for both financial disclosures were available for only 461 (22.23 per cent) parties, while 159 had submitted only audit reports and 114 submitted only contribution reports.
ADR, an NGO that works on electoral and political reforms, analysed the availability of financial disclosures, income, expenditure, donations, and electoral performance of RUPPs. Its report examined 734 parties across 34 states and Union territories for which audit or contribution reports were available on the respective chief electoral officers’ websites.
The findings highlight gaps in the public availability of financial information submitted by these parties.
What the numbers say:
Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of RUPPs with available financial statements, followed by Delhi and Bihar. Delhi recorded the highest proportion of parties with both reports available at 26.55 per cent.
The 734 parties analysed reported a combined income of ₹1,118.49 crore, expenditure of ₹1,024.60 crore and total donations of ₹1,104.36 crore. Gujarat accounted for the highest reported income at ₹510.42 crore, followed by Delhi at ₹218.48 crore and Rajasthan at ₹173.37 crore. Together, the three states accounted for around 81 per cent of the total reported income.
The report also found that 98.4 per cent of declared high-value donations went to parties that either won no seats or did not contest elections. Of 49 parties that declared incomes exceeding ₹1 crore, 43 failed to win a single seat despite reporting donations above that threshold. Eleven of these 49 parties did not have their audit reports available in the public domain for 2024-25, despite together collecting ₹371.95 crore in contributions above ₹20,000.
ADR further flagged discrepancies in the financial disclosures of 14 parties. Three parties—Vishal Janta Party, Justice Party, and Majlis Bachao Tahreek—reported zero total donations while separately declaring donations above ₹20,000.
Among the 15 RUPPs with the highest reported incomes, the combined donations above ₹20,000 totalled ₹1,064.71 crore. Despite this, the parties won zero seats in all contested elections. New India United Party declared the highest donations above ₹20,000 at ₹270.99 crore, followed by Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party and Bhartiya Garib Vikas Kalyan Party.
As per the ADR, the analysis showed that unrecognised parties received a large number of donations and relied heavily on large donors for nearly their entire expenditure.
The findings come after the Election Commission delisted 808 RUPPs in August and September 2025, primarily for failing to contest elections for six consecutive years. In September 2025, the commission also announced proceedings against 359 other parties over failures to submit audited accounts and election expenditure reports within the stipulated periods.
Recommendations:
ADR recommended that the Election Commission continue removing parties that do not contest elections for more than five years and strengthen the registration process. It also called on state chief electoral officers to regularly update their websites with the status of audit and contribution reports and urged greater scrutiny of parties receiving large donations, particularly those that do not contest elections.
The organisation further recommended a centralised digital database of parties’ financial filings and compliance histories. ADR also recommended that parties that fail to contest elections or submit contribution reports by the statutory deadline forfeit their tax-exempt status.
