The total assets declared by seven national and 44 regional political parties during the financial year 2019-2020 have been recorded at Rs 6,988.57 crore and Rs 2,129.38 crore, respectively. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has declared the maximum assets among the national parties. The BJP has declared assets worth Rs 4,847.78 crore (69.37 per cent) during this period.
This information has been received from an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
According to the ADR, it was followed by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which has declared assets of Rs 698.33 crore (9.99 per cent) and Indian National Congress (INC) which declared assets of Rs 588.16 crore (8.42 per cent).
Out of 44 regional political parties, the top 10 parties declared assets worth Rs 2,028.715 crore or 95.27 per cent of the total assets declared by all regional parties for the financial year 2019-20.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) declared the maximum assets at Rs 563.47 crore (26.46 per cent), followed by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) at Rs 301.47 crore and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with assets worth Rs 267.61 crore. has been declared.
Fixed deposits/FDRs accounted for the largest share of Rs 1,639.51 crore (76.99 per cent) in the total assets declared by regional parties in the financial year 2019-20, the analysis said.
National and regional parties have failed to comply with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) guidelines, which direct the parties to declare the details of financial institutions, banks or agencies, the ADR analysis said. from whom the loan was taken. The guidelines specify that the parties should specify the terms of repayment of term loans based on the due date such as one year, 1-5 years or due after 5 years.
Details of the fixed assets received as donation by the parties should be declared, such as the original cost of the asset, any additions or deductions, depreciation, cost of construction, etc. This should also be declared in respect of immovable properties purchased by the politician, the analysis said. Not all political parties have declared this information.
Neither party has declared the details of loans extended by the parties in cash/in kind, especially if it exceeds 10 per cent of the total loans.
The assets declared by political parties fall under six major heads: immovable property, loans and advances, FDRs/deposits, TDS, investments and other assets.
Among the national parties, BJP and BSP declared the highest amount of assets under FDRs/fixed deposits, at Rs 3,253.00 crore and Rs 618.86 crore, respectively. Whereas Congress declared the highest asset under FDR/Fixed Deposits, which has been mentioned at Rs 240.90 crore for the financial year 2019-20.
Among regional parties, SP (Rs 434.219 crore), TRS (Rs 256.01 crore), AIADMK (Rs 246.90 crore), DMK (Rs 162.425 crore), Shiv Sena (Rs 148.46 crore) and Biju Janata Dal i.e. BJD (Rs 118.425 crore) Most assets have been declared under FDRs/Fixed Deposits.
The total liabilities declared by seven national and 44 regional political parties for the same period have been Rs.134.93 crore. National political parties declared total liabilities as Rs 74.27 crore, Rs 4.26 crore under borrowings and Rs 70.01 crore under other liabilities.
Congress declared the highest liability of Rs 49.55 crore (66.72 per cent), followed by All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) at Rs 11.32 crore (15.24 per cent). Regional political parties declared total liabilities of Rs 60.66 crore, Rs 30.29 crore under borrowings and Rs 30.37 crore under other liabilities. Among them, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) declared the highest total liability at Rs 30.342 crore (50.02 per cent), followed by DMK at Rs 8.05 crore (13.27 per cent).
The ICAI Guidelines on Audit of Political Parties, which have been approved by the ECI to improve transparency in the finances of political parties, remain mere guidelines and mandated procedure for proactively disclosing their details by political parties. As such it is not being implemented. These guidelines are intended to standardize the format of financial statements of parties besides improving the disclosure or disclosure of income, expenditure, assets and liabilities of specific association, political parties.