NEW DELHI: As part of its efforts to clean up the electoral processes in the country, the Eletion Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday said that it has delisted 334 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs), which have failed to fulfill the essential condition of contesting even a single election for six years since 2019.
In an official statement the poll panel said, these 334 registered unrecognised political parties are from different states and Union Territories across the country. “Guidelines for registration of Political Parties mention that if the party does not contest elections continuously for 6 years, the party shall be taken off the list of registered parties.”
According to the ECI statement, earlier, in June 2025, the poll panel had directed the CEOs of States and UTs to conduct verification enquiries of 345 RUPPs regarding compliance with the above conditions.
“The CEOs conducted enquiries, issued show-cause notices to these RUPPs and provided each party an opportunity to respond and present their case through personal hearings,” it further noted, adding that the poll officials found that 334 RUPPs were not complying with the condition and also their address could not be located.
“The Commission, after considering all the facts and recommendations of the CEOs, has delisted 334 RUPPs. Now, out of the total of 2854 RUPPs, 2,520 are remaining,” it said in the statement.
This delisting exercise is part of a comprehensive and continuous strategy of the Election Commission to clean up the electoral system. There are 6 National Parties and 67 State Parties in India as of now.
This is the fourth time since 2001 that the ECI has weeded out defunct RUPPs, officials said.
The Supreme Court had earlier barred the poll panel from “derecognising” political parties, noting that it was not prescribed under law. But the ECI has found a way to “delist parties”, the officials said, adding that those delisted can be listed again by the poll authority without getting into the process of giving them fresh recognition.
The latest move comes just ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections and these delisted parties would not be able to field their candidates to contest elections.