Kumar Bahukhandi
Election Commission cracks down on inactive political parties (Photo: PTI)
In addition to the 42 parties from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of parties affected by the Election Commission’s action, with 121. Additionally, parties from Maharashtra (44), Delhi (40), Tamil Nadu (42), and Madhya Pradesh (23) have been removed from the list of registered parties. Action is now underway against 359 more political parties, including 39 from Tamil Nadu.
The Election Commission is continuously taking strict action against inactive political parties. Ahead of next year’s Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the Commission has cancelled the registration of 42 parties in the state, including allies of the ruling DMK and the BJP. The Election Commission has removed 474 political parties from the list of registered parties across the country based on their failure to contest elections for six consecutive years.
Election expenditure details not provided
This ‘clean-up drive’ by the Election Commission has affected 42 parties in Tamil Nadu alone. Thirty-nine more political parties in Tamil Nadu have been identified for failing to submit their annual audited accounts for the past three financial years (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24). These are parties that contested elections but failed to submit election expenditure reports.
The guidelines for the registration of political parties clearly state that if a party fails to contest elections for six consecutive years, it will be removed from the list of registered parties. Action has been taken against 42 Tamil parties under this rule.
Action taken against these Tamil parties
The Tamil parties against which the Election Commission has taken action include the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) led by Papanasam MLA M.H. Jawahirulla, the Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) led by Thiruchengode MLA E.R. Easwaran, and the Tamilaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam led by John Pandian.
The MMK, which has two MLAs, and the KMDK, which has one MLA and one MP, contested the last Assembly and Lok Sabha elections on the DMK ticket. The Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi, led by N.R. Dhanapalan, which contested the Perambur seat but was unsuccessful, contested both the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections on an AIADMK ticket.
The Election Commission states that as part of a comprehensive and ongoing strategy to clean up the electoral system, a total of 474 registered but unrecognized political parties have been removed from the list for not contesting elections in the last six years and violating other criteria.
More than 800 parties removed in two months
The Commission is carrying out a large-scale campaign to make the political party list more transparent. A total of 808 political parties have been removed from the list in the last two months. The Commission has also initiated the process of removing 359 additional RUPPs from the list. If these political parties do not meet the required documents and conditions, the Commission may soon remove these parties from its list, bringing the total number of parties removed from the list of registered parties to 833.
National and state-level registered unrecognized political parties (RUPPs) are registered with the Election Commission under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Upon registration, these parties receive special rights, such as election symbols and tax exemptions. However, according to the rules, if a political party does not contest elections for six consecutive years, it is removed from the list of registered parties.
