CHENNAI: In the first phase for the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the Election Commission has initiated the process of delisting 345 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs). Chennai district election officer and the city corporation commissioner, J Kumaragurubaran, shared the RUPPs list for Chennai district on Thursday.

A press release said, "The ECI has initiated the process of delisting 14 RUPPs from the list in the Chennai district. The delisted parties failed to fulfil the essential condition of contesting even one election in the last 6 years since 2019, and their locations cannot be traced."

Political parties (national /state/registered, unrecognised political parties) in the country are registered under Section 29 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Under this section, organisations registered as political parties enjoy several benefits, including tax exemption.

The press release added that the Chief Electoral Officers of states and union territories have been directed to issue show cause notices to parties concerned to ensure they are not unnecessarily removed from the list. The final decision regarding the removal will be up to the poll body.