Political Party Watch
Comprises analysis of Donations above Rs 20,000 that are received by Political Parties (National & Regional) and the Income Tax Returns filed by them, consistent with our belief that information relating to political parties must be in the public domain. In order to authenticate our analysis, scanned copies of Income Tax Returns of various political parties (national, regional and unrecognised parties) and RTIs that we file are also available here.
Income & Expenditure Analysis:
The sections analyses the sources of income and items of expenditure of political parties through the Income Tax returns filed by the parties with the IT department. It is seen that only National Parties and very few Regional Parties file their IT Returns on a regular basis every year. Moreover, the system of disclosing their financial details is not consistent among the parties.
For Income & Expenditure Analysis Reports>> CLICK HERE
Donation Analysis Reports:
This section analyses the donations declared as received by political parties above Rs 20,000 with details of donors from all over the country. The total income from named donors is much less than that from undisclosed donors contributing less than Rs 20,000. Apart from individuals and companies, there are electoral trusts which contribute the most to National parties and a few Regional parties.
For Donation Analysis Reports>> CLICK HERE
Electoral Bonds Analysis:
This section analyses the donations received through Electoral Bonds by political parties since the introduction of the scheme of anonymous Electoral Bonds in January 2018, by the Government of India. Electoral Bonds are issued and encashed in phases each year. ADR analyses the sale and encashment of bonds by denomination, value and city for each such period. This section is regularly updated upon availability of latest data on Electoral Bonds.
For Electoral Bonds Analysis Reports>> CLICK HERE
Election Expenditure Analysis:
All political (recognised National and Regional parties, and unrecognised parties) contesting in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are required to maintain an account of the total funds collected and the total expenditure incurred during the election period under various heads. This section analyses the expenditure statements of the parties submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the specified format after each Parliamentary and Assembly election. Expenditure statements are required to be filed by the parties within 75 days of Assembly elections and 90 days of Lok Sabha elections.
For Election Expenditure Analysis Reports>> CLICK HERE
Electoral Trusts reports:
The Election Commission of India (ECI), on 6 June 2014, issued guidelines to all those Electoral Trusts recognized by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Electoral Trust Scheme 2013 to submit to the Commission an Annual Report containing details of the contributions it received and the donations it gave to political parties, apart from an audit report. Since the transparency rules governing contributions to Electoral Trusts are not retrospective, there are no rules governing the functioning of Electoral Trusts which were established before the notification of the scheme in 2013. In this section, ADR analyses the details of donors of registered Electoral Trusts and the contributions made by the trusts to political parties during each financial year, beginning from FY 2013-14.
For Electoral Trusts Reports>> CLICK HERE
Registered Unrecognised Parties reports:
Political parties are either recognised political parties or unrecognised political parties. A recognised political party shall either be a National party or a State party if it meets certain laid down conditions. To become a recognised political party either at the state or national level, a party has to secure a certain minimum percentage of polled valid votes or certain number of seats in the state legislative assembly or the Lok Sabha during the last election. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has the power to issue instructions to unrecognised political parties for their expeditious recognition upon fulfilment of certain conditions as specified. The registered unrecognised political parties do not have the privilege of contesting elections on affixed symbol of their own. They have to choose from a list of ‘free symbols’ issued by the Commission. As of 15th March, 2019, there are a total of 2,372 political parties registered with the Commission. 2,301 or 97% of registered political parties are Unrecognised Parties.
For Registered Unrecognised Parties Reports>> CLICK HERE