ADR Report: 1,330 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties Fail to Publish Both Financial Reports for 2024-25

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has raised concerns over financial transparency among India's registered unrecognised political parties, revealing that 1,330 parties did not have either their annual audit reports or contribution reports publicly available for the financial year 2024-25. The findings highlight gaps in financial disclosures among smaller political organisations and raise questions about the monitoring of political funding in the country.

According to ADR's analysis, only 461 of the 734 registered unrecognised political parties examined had both financial reports available in the public domain. Another 159 parties had submitted only their annual audit reports, while 114 had only their contribution reports accessible. The remaining 1,330 parties had neither of the two documents available, making it difficult to assess their income, expenditure and sources of funding.

The report found that the 734 parties whose financial disclosures were examined collectively declared an income of ₹1,118.49 crore during 2024-25. Their combined expenditure stood at ₹1,024.60 crore, while donations reported by them totalled ₹1,104.36 crore. Gujarat recorded the highest declared income at ₹510.42 crore, followed by Delhi with ₹218.48 crore and Rajasthan with ₹173.37 crore. Together, the three states accounted for around 81 per cent of the total reported income.

ADR also highlighted concerns about donations received by political parties that have limited electoral success. Its analysis found that 98.4 per cent of declared high-value donations went to parties that either failed to win any seats or did not contest elections. Among 49 registered unrecognised political parties reporting annual incomes of more than ₹1 crore, 43 failed to win a single seat. The report further noted that 11 of these parties had not made their annual audit reports publicly available, despite collectively receiving ₹371.95 crore in donations exceeding ₹20,000.

The organisation also identified discrepancies in the financial disclosures of 14 political parties. Three parties — Vishal Janta Party, Justice Party and Majlis Bachao Tahreek — reported zero total donations in their financial statements while separately declaring donations above ₹20,000. Registered Unrecognised Political Parties, commonly known as RUPPs, are organisations registered with the Election Commission of India but not recognised as national or state parties. They can contest elections but have not fulfilled the conditions required to obtain recognised party status.

ADR has called for stronger monitoring of political party finances and greater transparency in the publication of financial disclosures. It has recommended that state Chief Electoral Officers regularly update their websites with details of parties that have submitted their audit and contribution reports. The organisation has also suggested establishing a centralised digital database to make political parties' financial records more accessible to the public. It has called for closer scrutiny of parties receiving substantial donations but showing little electoral participation.

The findings come amid wider action by the Election Commission against registered unrecognised political parties. The poll body removed 808 such parties from its list during August and September 2025, mainly over their failure to contest elections for six consecutive years. It also initiated proceedings against 359 other parties over non-submission of audited accounts and election expenditure reports. ADR's latest findings have renewed the debate over political funding accountability, with the organisation stressing the importance of making financial disclosures accessible and ensuring that political parties comply with reporting requirements.

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