Analysis of Status of Submission of Annual Reports for FY 2023-24 and Electoral Performance of Registered Unrecognised Political Parties of Bihar and others which contested 2020 Bihar Assembly Election
This report analyses the status of submission of annual reports of a total of 275 (9.95% of the total RUPPs) registered unrecognised parties – 184 parties registered in Bihar and 91 parties belonging to other states, whose either audit or contribution reports were available on the Bihar and other relevant states’ CEOs websites for the FY 2023-24.
Key Findings
The analysis shows that both annual audit and contribution reports are available in the public domain for 67 RUPPs for FY 2023-24. Together these parties declared a total income of Rs 85.56 cr, total expenditure of Rs 71.49 cr and total donations (exceeding Rs 20,000) of Rs 71.73 cr.
The highest income was declared by Samata Party (Delhi) of Rs 53.139 cr followed by West Unity Centre of India (Communist) of Rs 9.598 cr.
In terms of electoral performance, 46 (69%) out of these 67 RUPPs contested the Bihar Assembly Election 2020. Together these parties fielded 504 candidates, out of which only 8 candidates won, four each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Vikassheel Insaan Party with a vote share of 375,564 and 639,840 votes respectively.
There are 31 parties whose only audit reports for FY 2023-24 were available in the public domain, but not donation reports. The parties are predominantly registered in Bihar (24), with others from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, and Jharkhand.
Together these RUPPs declared total income of Rs 18.17 cr, total expenditure of Rs 18.03 cr and total donations worth Rs 18.02 cr – nearly matching the income, suggesting that donations are the primary funding source.
The top party, Rashtriya Jansambhavna Party (registered in Bihar),with a total income of Rs 1647.59 lakhs accounts for over 90% of the income of all 31 RUPPs.
In terms of electoral performance, 21 (68%) out of these 31 RUPPs contested the Bihar Assembly Election 2020. Together these parties fielded 178 candidates, out of which no candidate won.
There are 14 parties with donation reports but no audit reports. These reports provide details of donations above Rs 20,000. Parties are mostly from Bihar (7), with others from Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Haryana. Together these RUPPs declared total donations above Rs 20,000 worth Rs 682.28 cr.
The top parties, Aam Janmat Party and Prabal Bharat Party (both registered in Bihar), have total donations above Rs 20,000 of Rs 680.655 cr, which accounts for over 99% of donations of all 14 RUPPs.
In terms of electoral performance, 12 (85.71%) out of these 14 RUPPs contested the Bihar Assembly Election 2020. Together these parties fielded 72 candidates, out of which no candidate won.
Both audit and contribution reports are unavailable for 163 RUPPs for FY 2023-24. These parties are characterized by the absence of both audit reports and donation reports on the websites of the respective Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs).
The parties are registered across multiple states including 114 RUPPs from Bihar, 21 from Delhi and 19 from Uttar Pradesh among others.
113 (69%) out of 163 RUPPs contested the Bihar Assembly Election 2020. Together these parties fielded 712 candidates, none of which won.
The total five-year income for top 10 RUPPs whose both audit and contribution reports is Rs 15,567.2 lakhs (Rs 155.672 crore), with significant concentration in FY 2023-24 (Rs 82.923 crore, or 53% of the total). The parties are registered across multiple states such as Delhi (4), Maharashtra (2), Uttar Pradesh (2), West Bengal (1) and Bihar (1) reflecting the cross-regional nature of RUPPs active in Bihar’s politics.
Income is heavily concentrated, with the top three parties (Samata Party, Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), and Social Democratic Party of India) contributing Rs 11,767.928 lakhs (75.6% of the total).
Samata Party declared the highest total five-year income of Rs 56.15 cr (36%). Party saw a massive spike in FY 2023-24, comprising 95% of its five-year income.
Only one Bihar-registered party (Rashtriya Sarvodaya) makes to the top 10 by total five-year income, with Delhi (4) and Uttar Pradesh/Maharashtra (2 each) dominating.
Observations
- Jan Sangh Party and Rashtriya Lok Morcha had discrepancies in donation figures (e.g. Rashtriya Lok Morcha reported total donations of Rs 50,120 but declared Rs 11.02 lakhs as donations above Rs 20,000, while Jan Sangh Party declared total donations of Rs 180.12 lakhs where donations above Rs 20,000 shown by the party amounted to Rs 184.26 lakhs).
- The Jan Suraaj Party, with a total income of Rs 2.42 cr during FY 2023-24, has not been considered in this report since it was registered in August 2023 and has not contested any elections so far. The RUPPs considered in this report are those that have either contested the Bihar Assembly Election 2020 or those registered in Bihar.
- It is important to note that out of the 275 parties analysed, 163 parties (59.273%) have not made their audit reports and statements of donations above Rs 20,000 available on the respective State CEO websites. Among these, 113 parties had contested the Bihar Assembly Elections in 2020, yet their annual audit and donation reports are not publicly accessible. This highlights a serious lack of financial transparency and accountability among these political parties. The remaining 50 parties either did not contest the Bihar Assembly Elections in 2020 or were registered after 2020. The complete details of these parties are available on the MyNeta website.
- The most common and popular items of expenditure for regional parties for FY 2023-24 are Administrative & General Expenses and Election Expenditure.