Early Times Report
NEW DELHI, May 28: The combined income of 36 regional political parties declined by over 51 per cent in 2024-25 compared to the previous financial year, while 21 of them spent more than their declared earnings, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report, released on May 27, analysed the audited accounts of 36 out of 67 recognised regional parties whose annual audit reports for the financial year (FY) 2024-25 were available on the Election Commission website.
It noted that the remaining 31 parties had not made their audit reports available even 207 days after the October 31, 2025, deadline.
According to the ADR's analysis, the total income of the 36 regional parties stood at Rs 1,192.94 crore in the FY 2024-25, down from Rs 2,463.17 crore in FY 2023-24, a decline of Rs 1,270.23 crore or 51.57 per cent.
The total expenditure declared by these parties, however, reached Rs 1,433.07 crore, exceeding their combined income by Rs 240.12 crore or about 20 per cent.
The report said the top five parties accounted for nearly 69 per cent of the total income and over 77 per cent of total expenditure among the parties analysed. Among regional parties, the highest income was declared by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) at Rs 228.31 crore, constituting 19.14 per cent of the total income, followed closely by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) at Rs 219.35 crore and the YSR Congress at Rs 140.39 crore. On the expenditure front, YSR Congress spent the most at Rs 340.20 crore, followed by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) at Rs 288.44 crore and AITC at Rs 227.59 crore. The ADR report highlighted that 21 of the 36 parties spent more than the income they collected during the year.
YSR Congress recorded the highest excess expenditure, spending Rs 199.82 crore more than its income, amounting to 142.33 per cent above its earnings. Parties such as AITC, BRS, BJD, JD(U) and Samajwadi Party also reported expenditure exceeding their income.
At the same time, 15 parties reported unspent income. The TDP had the largest surplus, retaining Rs 166.98 crore unspent, followed by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) with Rs 36.27 crore and AIADMK with Rs 35.86 crore.
Voluntary contributions remained the biggest source of funding for regional parties. Donations and contributions accounted for Rs 702.36 crore or 58.88 per cent of total income. The AITC reported the highest donations at Rs 184.08 crore, followed by YSR Congress at Rs 140.05 crore and TDP at Rs 85.20 crore. Interest income contributed another Rs 277.21 crore, or 23.24 per cent of the total income.
The report further observed that election expenditure and administrative expenses remained the most common spending heads.
Fifteen regional parties spent more than 55 per cent of their expenditure on elections. YSR Congress alone spent Rs 299.92 crore on election campaigns, followed by BJD at Rs 270.66 crore and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) at Rs 147.99 crore.
ADR also flagged delays in filing audit reports. While 15 parties submitted their reports on time, 21 delayed their submissions from two to 96 days.
The organisation noted that 31 regional parties, including major parties such as DMK, Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, had not uploaded their FY 2024-25 audit reports on the ECI website at the time of preparation of the report.
ADR recommended stricter enforcement of disclosure rules, greater transparency in donor details and stronger penalties against parties that fail to submit audit reports on time. |
