Electoral Commission withdraws recognition of 334 political parties that have not participated in elections since 2019
The Election Commission of India (EC) has delisted 334 unrecognized political parties that have not contested any election since 2019. This move is part of the EC's efforts to maintain an active and credible political registry and increase transparency in the political landscape.
The delisting of these parties is due to their failure to contest elections in the last six years and their offices could not be physically located. Some of these parties were previously found to have violated income tax norms and anti-money laundering laws, suggesting misuse of benefits granted to registered parties.
The EC's delisting process is aimed at weeding out inactive entities and ensuring that privileges granted under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951—such as tax exemptions—are only available to active political organizations participating in the democratic process.
This latest cleanup reduced the number of registered unrecognized parties from 2,854 to 2,520. The delisted parties are from various states and Union Territories across the country.
The EC adopted a "delisting" approach rather than "derecognizing" parties due to a Supreme Court ruling that bars the EC from derecognizing political parties under existing laws. Delisted parties can be re-listed later without restarting the full recognition process.
This move continues a pattern since 2001, where the EC has periodically removed defunct unrecognized parties to maintain an active and credible political registry. At present, there are six national parties and 67 state parties. The poll panel made this announcement on Saturday.
The delisting of unrecognized political parties by the Election Commission (EC) aligns with the larger narrative of politics and general news, as it aims to enhance transparency and maintain an active and credible political registry. This action was taken due to the parties' failure to contest elections and allegations of violating income tax norms and anti-money laundering laws, indicating potential misuse of privileges.
