HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and YSR Congress Party from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are among the top 10 rich parties in the country in the regional party category.

The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said the TDP has assets worth Rs 193 crore which puts the party in the fourth position, while the TRS stands at sixth with Rs 188 crore assets. The YSRC with Rs 93 crore occupies the eighth rank in the financial year 2018-19. The Samajwadi Party tops the list with Rs 572 crore assets, followed by Naveen Patnaik’s BJD with Rs 232 crore assets. Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK party is in third position with Rs 206 crore assets.

The total assets of TDP include fixed deposits of Rs 115 crore. The TRS has Rs 152 crore FDs. The YSRC tops other parties among other assets category with Rs 79 crore assets. 

In 2018-19, the TDP declared Rs 18 crore as its liabilities, the highest declared by any party, followed by JD(S) which had Rs 18 crore liabilities.

Forum for Good Governance Padmanabha Reddy said political parties and the Election Commission of India should ensure better transparency in recording donations. “The electoral bonds’ details should also be revealed. Huge money is being spent by the parties. The real value of assets could be much more than what is cited. Auditing and accounting should also be improved,” he said.

Reddy said electoral malpractices and spending money should be checked so that political parties need not resort to corrupt practices.

ADR’s analysis showed that assets and liabilities declared by 39 regional parties in 2016-17 were to the tune of Rs 1,267 crore, while the worth of 41 regional parties in 2017-18 was Rs 1,320 crore. The total liabilities declared by the regional parties in 2018-19 were to the tune of Rs 79 crore — Rs 47 crore under borrowings and Rs 32 crore under other liabilities.