NEW DELHI: The Election Commission, in an unprecedented move on Wednesday, said it would be initiating “graded action” against more than 2100 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPP) for flouting various rules, including failure to furnish a contribution report, changing their name, head office, office bearers and even address.
The poll panel said 66 such parties had claimed income tax exemption in the financial year 2020 without complying with statutory requirements under the Representation of the People Act, while 2,174 have not submitted contribution reports.
It said that action would be initiated against those receiving donations without statutory due compliances.
The EC had last year flagged the presence of inactive, unrecognised political parties that have not contested any election and had asked the Law Ministry to give them the power to de-register them or allow them to act against them.
There are 2,796 such political parties as of September 2021, which has increased by over 300 per cent since 2001, the panel said.
"Action initiated against three registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) reported being involved in serious financial impropriety. Eighty-seven non-existent RUPPs shall be deleted from the list and benefits under the Symbols Order (1968) withdrawn," the statement said.
The Commission noted with "serious concern" that out of 2,796 unrecognised parties, many are neither taking part in the electoral process nor adhering to one or several of the requirements, which is not only violative of statutory requirements but also defeats the purpose of the clean electoral ecosystem.
Eighty-seven such parties whose address of communication was required for registration have not complied. These parties are non-existent after a physical verification carried out by the respective Chief Electoral Officers.
The panel said income tax exemptions had been taken to Rs 445 crores in 2018-19 by 199 such parties and Rs 608 crores in 2019-20 by 219 RUPPs.
100 RUPPs failed to furnish Election Expenditure Statements after contesting elections, thus violating EC directions.
About 2056 such parties failed to furnish annual audited accounts, which is mandated, as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
Political parties, to be registered, must contest an election within five years of its registration. They are also required to furnish their election expenditure statement within 75 days in case of Assembly elections, and within 90 days, in case of Lok Sabha elections.
The panel said "compliance to the conditions and regulations in the RP Act, 1951 are essential conditions for maintaining financial discipline, propriety, public accountability, transparency and empowering voters for making informed decisions."
Fact Box
There are 2,796 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPP) as of September, 2021, an increase of over 300 percent since 2001
Out of 2,354 unrecognised parties, over 92 percent have not filed their contribution report in 2019
199 RUPPs claimed Rs. 445 crore IT exemption in 2018-19
219 RUPPs claimed Rs 608 crore IT exemption in 2019-20, of which 66 unrecognised parties claimed income tax exemption without submitting contribution reports in Form 24A as mandated under section 29C of the Act.
87 RUPPs have been found to be not in existence
For the year 2019, 2,056 RUPPs have not yet filed their Annual Audited Accounts.
In 2019, out of 2,354 RUPPs only 623 contested elections
70 percent RUPPs did not contest elections
Out of 115 RUPPs (headquartered in the states of Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) and which contested assembly elections of 2021, only 15 RUPPs have filed their Election Expenditure Statement till date