New Delhi, Aug 9
The Election Commission of India on Saturday said that it has delisted 334 registered unrecognised political parties, which according to it have failed to fulfil the essential condition of contesting even a single election for six years since 2019.
The Commission also said that it was unable to locate its offices of these parties could also not be physically located anywhere.
It said: “The Commission, after considering all the facts and recommendations of the CEOs, has delisted 334 RUPPS.”
“Now, out of the total of 2854 RUPPs, 2520 are remaining. This delisting exercise is part of a comprehensive and continuous strategy of the Election Commission to clean up the electoral system,” it said.
The poll panel said that guidelines for registration of political parties mention that “if the party does not contest elections continuously for 6 years, the party shall be taken off the list of registered parties”.
“In addition, as per Section 29A of the RP Act 1951, parties at the time of their registration have to give details like name, address, office bearers etc. and any change has to be communicated to the Commission without delay,” it said.
It mentioned that in June 2025, EC had directed the CEOs of States and UTs to conduct verification enquiries of 345 RUPPS regarding compliance with the above conditions.
“CEOs conducted enquiries, issued show-cause notices to these RUPPs and provided each party an opportunity to respond and present their case through personal hearings,” the poll panel said.
“Thereafter, based on reports of the CEOs, 334 RUPPs out of the total of 345 RUPPs have been found not complying with the above conditions. The remaining cases have been referred back to the CEOs for reverification,” it added.
It fuether said that these RUPPs will now not be eligible to avail any benefit under the provisions of Section 29B and Section 29C of the RP Act, 1951 read with the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. Any party aggrieved by this order can appeal to the Commission within 30 days of the order.
At present, there are 6 National Parties, 67 State Parties and 2854 Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) registered with EC, it added.
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