EC delists 334 RUPPs for non-compliance with electoral laws months after businessline exposé  

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.
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SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday said that it has delisted 334 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs), five months after businessline exposed laundering of ₹10,000 crore political donations by such parties over two years from 2022. 

Earlier in June, 345 RUPPs were identified by the ECI for the first time for not complying with the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and guidelines for registration of parties, taking note of the exclusive report filed by this newspaper on March 20, this year.

The ECI in June had directed the Chief Election Officers (CEOs) of States & UTs to conduct verification enquiries of 345 RUPPs regarding compliance with electoral laws and rules, said the Commission in a statement.

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.

“Thereafter, based on reports of the CEOs, 334 RUPPs out of the total of 345 RUPPs were found not complying with the above conditions, said the ECI. The remaining cases have been referred back to the CEOs for reverification, it added.

“The Commission, after considering all the facts and recommendations of the CEOs, has delisted 334 RUPPs”, the statement read.

“Now, out of the total of 2,854 RUPPs, 2,520 are remaining. This delisting exercise is part of a comprehensive and continuous strategy of the Election Commission to clean up the electoral system.”

These RUPPs will now not be eligible to avail any benefit under the provisions of Section 29B and Section 29C of the RP Act, 1951 read with the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. 

Any party aggrieved by this order can appeal to the Commission within 30 days of the order.

The Income Tax Department through nudging exercise and searches have managed to extract more than ₹100 crore from donors who funded RUPPs to avail tax exemption. 

The Income Tax Department has come across hundreds of bank accounts maintained by these political parties where funds amounting to more than ₹10,000 crore were collected as donations and later diverted for other than election purposes.

Published on August 9, 2025