{"id":371612,"date":"2026-09-11T21:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T15:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=371612"},"modified":"2026-09-11T21:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T15:39:27","slug":"regulation-of-rupps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/regulation-of-rupps\/","title":{"rendered":"Regulation of RUPPs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>UPSC Syllabus: Gs Paper 2- <\/strong>Political parties.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"yellow-h2-box\"><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A recent investigation found that <strong>six Gujarat-based RUPPs received around <\/strong>\u20b9<strong>1,700 crore in donations in 2023-24<\/strong>, despite limited electoral participation. The amount exceeded the \u20b91,480 crore received by five nationally recognised parties other than the BJP. These findings, along with poor financial disclosure among <strong>Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (<\/strong>RUPPs), have raised concerns over <strong>political funding, transparency and misuse of party registration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"yellow-h2-box\"><strong>RUPPs: Meaning and Legal Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Meaning of RUPPs:<\/strong> <strong>Registered Unrecognised Political Parties<\/strong> <strong>(<\/strong>RUPPs) are parties registered with the <strong>Election Commission but not recognised as national or state parties<\/strong> due to insufficient electoral performance.<\/li>\n<li><strong> Legal Framework:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Registration under Section 29A:<\/strong> Political parties are registered with the Election Commission under <strong>Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951<\/strong>, after scrutiny of their documents.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Application within 30 days:<\/strong> A political group must apply for registration within <strong>30 days of its formation<\/strong>, along with its name, constitution, leadership details, objectives and organisational information.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Democratic commitment:<\/strong> The party must submit an affidavit confirming that its constitution follows <strong>democratic principles<\/strong> and does not promote discrimination or violence..<\/li>\n<li><strong>Electoral rights:<\/strong> RUPPs can <strong>contest elections and undertake political activities<\/strong>, but their unrecognised status limits their electoral privileges compared with recognised parties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> Benefits Available to RUPPs<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tax exemption:<\/strong> RUPPs can receive <strong>tax exemption on eligible donations<\/strong> under the prescribed provisions, subject to compliance with financial requirements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Electoral facilities:<\/strong> RUPPs can obtain a <strong>common symbol for Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections<\/strong> and use <strong>20 star campaigners<\/strong> during election campaigns.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Financial obligations:<\/strong> RUPPs must disclose donors contributing above \u20b9<strong>20,000 annually<\/strong>, while donations above \u20b92,000 must be received through <strong>cheques or bank transfers<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"yellow-h2-box\"><strong>Major Concerns Related to RUPPs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Sharp rise in income:<\/strong> ADR recorded a <strong>223% rise in RUPP income during FY 2022-23<\/strong>, with declared income exceeding \u20b9<strong>2,316 crore<\/strong> among the sampled parties.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Poor financial disclosure:<\/strong> Of <strong>2,764 RUPPs<\/strong>, only <strong>739 submitted financial records<\/strong>, leaving over <strong>73% without financial information<\/strong> available to the Election Commission.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gujarat funding mismatch:<\/strong> Five Gujarat-based RUPPs reported \u20b9<strong>2,316 crore between 2019 and 2024<\/strong>, while collectively receiving only <strong>22,000 votes<\/strong> during that period.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Limited electoral presence:<\/strong> These five Gujarat parties fielded only <strong>17 candidates<\/strong> across two Lok Sabha and one Assembly election, and <strong>none won<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inactive RUPPs:<\/strong> India had more than <strong>2,800 RUPPs<\/strong>, but only around <strong>750 contested the 2024 general elections<\/strong>, leaving many as so-called \u201cletter pad parties\u201d.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Financial misuse risks:<\/strong> Poor compliance and weak transparency can make inactive parties an <strong>opaque channel for tax evasion, money laundering and other illegal financial transactions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Voter confusion:<\/strong> Temporary symbols allotted to RUPPs may resemble established parties, creating <strong>confusion among voters<\/strong>, particularly where literacy levels are lower.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 class=\"yellow-h2-box\"><strong>Initiatives Taken to Regulate RUPPs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Periodic delisting by ECI:<\/strong> The Election Commission periodically publishes lists of <strong>de-listed RUPPs<\/strong>, with its October 2025 notification containing <strong>over 800 such parties<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Supreme Court limitation:<\/strong> In <strong>Indian National Congress v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002)<\/strong>, the Supreme Court held that the ECI lacks general power to deregister parties.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exceptional deregistration:<\/strong> The ECI can deregister a party in exceptional cases such as <strong>fraudulent registration, loss of constitutional allegiance or declaration as unlawful<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Law Commission proposal:<\/strong> The <strong>255th Law Commission Report<\/strong> recommended deregistration where a political party fails to contest elections for <strong>ten consecutive years<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ECI electoral reform proposal:<\/strong> In its <strong>2016 electoral reform memorandum<\/strong>, the ECI proposed amending the RP Act to give it power to deregister political parties.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Financial monitoring:<\/strong> The Income Tax Department and other enforcement agencies can monitor party transactions and take <strong>strict action against financial wrongdoing<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tax exemption reform:<\/strong> The ECI proposed restricting tax exemptions to parties winning seats, though a <strong>suitable vote-share threshold<\/strong> is considered a less extreme alternative.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 class=\"yellow-h2-box\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Empowering the Election Commission<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Deregistration powers:<\/strong> The <strong>Law Commission<\/strong><strong>\u2019<\/strong><strong>s 255th Report<\/strong> recommended allowing deregistration when a political party fails to contest elections for <strong>10 consecutive years<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Legislative amendment:<\/strong> The ECI\u2019s <strong>2016 electoral reform memorandum<\/strong> proposed amending the Representation of the People Act to empower it to <strong>deregister non-serious political parties<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong> Strengthening Financial Monitoring<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Agency-level monitoring:<\/strong> The <strong>Income Tax Department and other enforcement agencies<\/strong> should monitor RUPP transactions and take strict action against financial wrongdoing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Digital financial scrutiny:<\/strong> The existing digital environment can help authorities track transactions and act as a <strong>deterrent against misuse of tax exemptions and political registration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> Linking Tax Benefits with Electoral Support<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Avoiding an extreme threshold:<\/strong> Tax exemptions should not be restricted only to parties that <strong>win Lok Sabha or Assembly seats<\/strong>, as some genuine parties may consistently contest elections without electoral success.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vote-share threshold:<\/strong> A <strong>suitable vote-percentage threshold<\/strong>, similar to the 1% threshold used for common symbols, should be prescribed for RUPPs to avail tax exemptions on donations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong> Avoiding Mere Electoral Compliance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Preventing token participation:<\/strong> Deregistration alone may not solve the problem if parties simply contest elections to fulfil statutory requirements and continue misusing <strong>tax exemptions and political registration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong> Centralised Financial Disclosure<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Digital disclosure portal:<\/strong> A <strong>centralised portal<\/strong> should require political parties to upload financial and operational information, including income statements, donor records and candidate details, in standardised formats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>RUPPs provide space for <strong>political participation<\/strong>, but weak financial disclosure and limited electoral activity can create opportunities for misuse. <strong>Stronger ECI powers, transparent funding and better financial monitoring<\/strong> are needed to prevent tax evasion, money laundering and misuse of political registration. At the same time, <strong>proportionate eligibility rules<\/strong> should protect genuine smaller parties and preserve political pluralism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Examine the need for effective regulation of Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) in India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/how-should-rupps-be-regulated-explained\/article71451531.ece\">The Hindu<\/a> ; <a href=\"https:\/\/adrindia.org\/contenr\/adr-report-on-registered-unrecognised-political-parties-in-india-in-english\"><strong>adrindia<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPSC Syllabus: Gs Paper 2- Political parties. Introduction A recent investigation found that six Gujarat-based RUPPs received around \u20b91,700 crore in donations in 2023-24, despite limited electoral participation. The amount exceeded the \u20b91,480 crore received by five nationally recognised parties other than the BJP. These findings, along with poor financial disclosure among Registered Unrecognised Political&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/regulation-of-rupps\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Regulation of RUPPs<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[212,7094,10498],"class_list":["post-371612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-political-parties","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371612\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}