Disclosure in ADR report.
New Delhi: Election rights body ADR has said that for the financial year 2022-23, Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) tops the list of regional parties with an income of Rs 737.67 crore, while Trinamool Congress (TMC) leads in terms of spending money. BRS’s income is 42.38 per cent of the total income of regional parties. According to the ADR report, among the top five highest-spending parties, Trinamool Congress (TMC) tops the list, spending Rs 181.18 crore or 37.66 per cent of the total expenditure of regional parties in the respective financial year. It was followed by YSR-Congress at Rs 79.32 crore or 16.49 per cent. BRS spent Rs 57.47 crore or 11.94 per cent. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spent Rs 52.62 crore or 10.94 per cent and the Samajwadi Party spent Rs 31.41 crore or 6.53 per cent of the total expenditure.
Total income of top-5 parties is Rs 1,541.32 crore
In an analysis of the financial position of regional political parties in India, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has prepared detailed income and expenditure reports for 39 of the 57 regional parties for the financial year 2022-23. According to the analysis, the total income of the top five parties is Rs 1,541.32 crore or 88.56 per cent of the total income of regional parties, while the total declared income of 39 regional parties is Rs 1,740.48 crore. The Election Commission had set October 31, 2023 as the deadline for political parties to submit their annual audit reports. However, only 16 of these adhered to the deadline. 23 parties submitted their reports late. The delay ranged from three to 150 days.
Reports of 18 parties not received
According to ADR, the audit reports of 18 regional parties, including major parties like Shiv Sena (SHS), Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena (UBT), were not available on the Election Commission’s website at the time of preparation of the report. A total of 19 regional parties declared unspent income for the financial year. BRS had the highest unspent income of Rs 680.20 crore, followed by Biju Janata Dal with Rs 171.06 crore and DMK with Rs 161.72 crore. In contrast, 20 parties reported more expenditure than their income, with Janata Dal (Secular) spending 490.43 per cent more than its income. Voluntary contributions, including donations and electoral bonds, were the primary source of income for political parties, amounting to Rs 1,522.46 crore or 87.47 per cent of the total income. Of this, Rs 1,285.83 crore came from electoral bonds.
8 parties received donations through electoral bonds
Only eight regional parties declared receiving donations through electoral bonds. The ADR report recommends that the Election Commission impose strict deadlines and penalise political parties for late or non-submission of audit reports. It also calls for full disclosure of donor details under the Right to Information Act to ensure transparency in political donations. The report calls for strict enforcement of laws such as Section 13A of the Income Tax Act and Section 29 (c) of the Representation of the People Act, which make it mandatory for political parties to disclose their financial position. (input language)
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