Most unregistered political parties in India missed financial reporting deadlines for 2024-25, ADR report reveals

A new report shows that 1,330 registered unrecognised political parties in India, or 65 percent of the total, failed to make their annual audit and contribution reports public for the 2024-25 financial year. The study comes from the Association for Democratic Reforms, an organization focused on electoral and political transparency.

Financial Disclosures

Out of 734 parties covered by the report's overall figures, both financial documents were available for only 461 groups, while 159 submitted only audit reports and 114 provided just contribution reports. Together, the analysed parties reported a combined income of 1,118.49 crore rupees, an expenditure of 1,024.60 crore rupees, and total donations of 1,104.36 crore rupees. Gujarat led in reported income with 510.42 crore rupees, followed by Delhi and Rajasthan, with these three states accounting for roughly 81 percent of the total reported income.

Electoral Performance

The report points out that 98.4 percent of declared high-value donations went to parties that either did not win any seats or stayed out of elections entirely. Out of 49 parties declaring incomes above 1 crore rupees, 43 failed to win a single seat. Furthermore, 15 political groups with the highest reported incomes collected 1,064.71 crore rupees in donations above 20,000 rupees yet won zero seats in all contested races. New India United Party declared the highest large donations at 270.99 crore rupees, followed by Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party and Bhartiya Garib Vikas Kalyan Party. The study also noted financial discrepancies in 14 parties, including Vishal Janta Party, Justice Party, and Majlis Bachao Tahreek, which reported zero total donations while separately declaring donations above 20,000 rupees.

Action And Recommendations

These findings follow recent actions by the Election Commission, which delisted 808 unrecognised parties in August and September 2025 for not contesting elections over six consecutive years, alongside proceedings against 359 other groups for missing financial submissions. The Association for Democratic Reforms has recommended that the Election Commission keep removing inactive parties, tighten registration rules, and push for a centralised digital database for financial filings. The group also suggested that parties missing reporting deadlines or failing to contest elections should lose their tax-exempt status.

Context

Registered unrecognised political parties are entities that have registered with the Election Commission but have not met the vote share or seat criteria required to be recognised as state or national parties. India's election rules require all registered political parties to maintain transparent financial records and submit annual audit and contribution reports to authorities. Public disclosure of these documents helps voters and election watchdogs track party funding sources and campaign spending patterns.