Politics
India’s Unrecognised Political Parties Receive Billions in Donations Amid Limited Electoral Activity
By Today News Hours Editorial Desk
During the financial year ending March 2024, the Gujarat‑based Satyawadi Rakshak Party, one of more than 2,800 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs), received over 3.3 billion rupees (about $35 million) in donations. The party fielded a single candidate in the 2024 general election, who lost his deposit. Its accounts show 84.8 million rupees spent on campaigning and more than 3.16 billion rupees listed as spending on “public welfare”. Party president Swati Ben Patel said the money was spent on charity but no records were kept.
A BBC investigation examined six RUPPs that reported some of the largest donations in 2023‑24. Together they received roughly 17 billion rupees while fielding only 15 candidates in the election, none of whom won. The Indian Income Tax Department has been investigating suspected misuse of RUPPs since at least 2022, identifying 55.91 billion rupees in suspected bogus political donations and 6.65 billion rupees in foreign transactions, and noting possible violations of tax, foreign‑funding and election laws. None of the six parties examined by the BBC has been publicly named in these wider inquiries, and the BBC has not established any financial wrongdoing.
On the ground, several registered offices were closed or appeared inactive. Party officials sometimes said they did not control their organisations’ finances or could not explain how large sums had been spent. For example, the Garib Kalyan Party, which received 1.38 billion rupees in donations in 2023‑24, had a closed registered office and fielded only three candidates. The president’s mother said she knew little about the party, though Income Tax officials had searched the family home.
The Aam Janmat Party, founded in Patna in 2020, reported no individual donations above 20,000 rupees in its first two years. Donations rose to 2.16 billion rupees in 2022‑23 and more than 6.2 billion rupees in 2023‑24, more than twice the 2.8 billion rupees received by the Indian National Congress. The party fielded a single candidate in 2024 who lost his deposit. Founding president Anamika Paswan resigned in 2022; she is now a vice‑president of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar. The party moved to Ahmedabad with Gaurav Mishra as president, but its registered office was shut. The treasurer said operations had ceased, though the bank account remained active and accepted a small donation from the BBC.
Researchers note that these parties are not electorally active yet receive large funds and spend money. Tax officials say money can pass through a web of taxpayers, parties and intermediaries, obscuring its origin and ultimate destination. The BBC traced two donors to the New India United Party who claimed tax benefits on their contributions. Three anonymous tax officials said chartered accountants and other middlemen connect taxpayers seeking deductions with parties willing to receive donations; in some cases, intermediaries exercise considerable control over party finances.
The Election Commission has been removing inactive parties from its official list; last year it delisted more than 800 RUPPs that had not fielded a candidate in six years, but it cannot cancel a party’s legal registration. The BBC asked the commission whether tax authorities had shared information about suspected financial irregularities involving RUPPs, including the six examined, but received no response.