The Indian political arena has six national and 67 regional parties, and 2,074 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs), mostly letterhead outfits. But the remarkable thing about some of them is the income they have declared. A good number have income in hundreds of crores and yet contest just a few seats in states far away from where they are located and win a small number of votes. Their disproportionate finances are an aspect of the Indian election system that needs a closer look.
In its latest analysis of the financial statements submitted by registered unrecognised political parties, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) found that the 734 RUPPs that filed their income returns to the electoral authorities for 2024-25 had a total income of Rs 1,118.5 crore. Some of the top RUPPs had income comparable to some of the regional parties. More than 99% of the income of the top 15 RUPPs came from donations, compared to 85% for the six national parties, and 59% for regional parties.
The geographical concentration of these wealthy RUPPs is remarkable. Three states — Gujarat, Delhi and Rajasthan — account for nearly 80.67% of the income reported by RUPPs. Just 29 RUPPs from Gujarat reported an income of Rs 510.4 crore, amounting to 46% of the total income of all RUPPs; 73 parties registered in Delhi declared Rs 218.5 crore, and 23 from Rajasthan reported Rs 173.4 crore.
There is a mismatch between the electoral performance of these parties and the monies flowing into their coffers. Some parties with virtually no electoral presence have received hundreds of crores in donations.
Of the richest RUPPs, New India United Party (Gujarat) received Rs 271 crore and polled just 1,426 votes across two seats; the Swatantrata Abhivyakti Party (also Gujarat) received donations to the tune of Rs 228.81 crore and won 12,741 votes across four Lok Sabha seats; and the Bhartiya Garib Vikas Kalyan Party (Rajasthan) received Rs 170.04 crore and won 1,347 votes in the Bhilwara Lok Sabha election in 2024. The last-named was registered in January 2024 and yet declared an income of Rs 170.04 crore for the 2024–25 fiscal.
Oddly, the New India United Party is registered in Gujarat but chose to contest two seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly election. Similarly, the Gujarat-based Bharatiya National Janata Dal contested three seats in this year’s Bengal Assembly polls and got 1,247 votes in total.
The ADR analysis found that several of the richest RUPPs reported spending practically everything they received during that financial year. Over the five years from 2020–21 to 2024–25, some of these parties self-reported substantial expenditure under heads such as public/social welfare and charity.
If this is the picture of the 734 RUPPs that reported their incomes to the election authorities, what about the 1,330 (65%) that didn’t? If the ECI were a fair referee, it would be concerned about whether this is yet another channel of shady election funding. Aggregated over five years, the numbers are substantial. Between 2020–21 and 2024–25, the top 15 RUPPs reported a total income of Rs 3,827.37 crore, with a distinct Gujarat skew. Six Gujarat-registered RUPPs accounted for 70.34% of the reported income for this period. The facts merit an investigation. If this indeed is another channel of campaign finance, it would only deepen the rot in which India’s election system is already mired.