Political Parties

I-T dept flags ₹5,500 cr in suspicious political donation-linked tax claims

Investigations found that intermediaries were advertising "guaranteed refunds" in cinema halls and on social media platforms, luring taxpayers into making non-genuine claims in return for a commission

Over half of Bihar's unrecognised parties skip financial disclosure: ADR

According to ADR, only about one-fourth of the parties disclosed both their audit and contribution reports for FY24, declaring a combined income of ₹85.56 crore

ECI makes pre-certification mandatory for political ads on social media

The Election Commission has directed all national and state parties, as well as contesting candidates, to obtain MCMC approval before publishing or airing any political advertisements

EC de-lists 474 more registered unrecognised parties for flouting norms

The Election Commission (EC) on Friday said it has de-listed 474 more registered unrecognised political parties for flouting norms, including not contesting elections in the last six years. In the first phase of the exercise, the EC de-listed 334 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) on August 9. "In continuation, in the second phase, ECI delisted 474 RUPPs on September 18, based on non-contestation in elections conducted by ECI continuously for 6 years. Thus, 808 RUPPs have been delisted in the last 2 months," it said. Till recently, there were 2,520 RUPPs. After the de-listing exercise, 2,046 RUPPs remain. Besides, there are six recognised national parties and 67 state parties.

With 140 mn memberships, BJP is world's largest political party: Nadda

BJP national president JP Nadda on Sunday said that the saffron party has become the world's largest political party with 14 crore members, out of which two crore are active. The party has 240 Lok Sabha members, around 1,500 MLAs and more than 170 MLCs across the country, he said. Addressing a party rally here, Nadda termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA regime as "responsible and responsive". "We are the largest political party in the world with 14 crore members. In India, we have the NDA governments in 20 states and the BJP governments in 13 states. We are the largest representative party in the country. We have 240 MPs (Lok Sabha). We have around 1,500 MLAs. We have more than 170 MLCs," he said. Nadda said in the 11 years under PM Modi leadership there has been politics of performance and accountable government, while in the previous governments there were politics of non-performance, and they did not carry out development works. They also forgot the promises made in the .

Dynasts rule the roost in Lok Sabha with 31% share, shows ADR analysis

Over a fifth of sitting legislators have dynastic backgrounds; Cong has highest share at 31%

News highlights: Ex-Chief Justice Sushila Karki to head interim Nepal govt, local media reports

Nepal protests LIVE updates: Protestors attacked the private residences of several high-profile leaders, headquarters of political parties and vandalised Parliament. Catch all the updates here

40 regional parties earned ₹2,532 cr in FY24, 70% via electoral bonds: ADR

Around 40 regional political parties declared a combined income of Rs 2,532.09 crore in the financial year 2023-?24, with more than 70 per cent of their funds coming through electoral bonds, according to an analysis by poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) reported the highest income at Rs 685.51 crore, followed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with Rs 646.39 crore, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with Rs 297.81 crore, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with Rs 285.07 crore and YSR Congress with Rs 191.04 crore. These top five parties accounted for 83.17 per cent of the total income declared by the 40 regional parties. "The total income of the 40 regional parties for FY 2023-24 was Rs 2,532.096 crore. More than 70 per cent of the total income (Rs 1,796.024 crore) of the 40 regional political parties analysed for FY 2023-24 came from donations through electoral bonds," the report said. The ADR said that audit reports of 20 regional parties we

From broom to bust: New book traces AAP's rise, drift, and undoing

In just 13 years, Delhi's own party soared and stumbled. Sayantan Ghosh's book examines what it must do to rise again as it grapples with existential questions

KCR suspends daughter K Kavitha from BRS over violation of discipline

BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao suspended daughter K Kavitha from the party citing violation of discipline

Political parties slam Delhi Police for using force against SSC aspirants

Political parties slammed the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly using force against Staff Selection Commission (SSC) aspirants protesting at Ramlila Maidan against "mismanagement" in recruitment exams, even as the police denied claims of baton charging the demonstrators. SSC students and trainers staged a protest at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, demanding better conduct of the examination. Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia posted a video on X in which police personnel were seen pushing a protester and dragging another. "At Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, the BJP's 'Lathi-Leela'. Brutal baton charge on SSC students and teachers, dragged them away forcefully. When it comes to providing jobs, the Modi government ranks last, but when it comes to lathi-charging youth, it is number one," he said. The Congress-affiliated NSUI, in a late-night post on X, levelled similar allegations. "For demanding a fair SSC recruitment, today the Modi government had students thrashed with batons.

Unrecognised parties transparent, still behind national, regional parties

In FY18, merely 125 RUPPs (5.43 per cent) had their audited statements, and 82 RUPPs (3.56 per cent) had their contribution reports in public domain

Datanomics: Rise of unconditional cash transfers ahead of Bihar polls

UCT now constitutes 0.87 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), outpacing both MGNREGA and food subsidies shares in the economy

Income of unrecognised political parties jumps 223% in FY23: ADR report

The declared incomes of registered unrecognised political parties witnessed a 223 per cent spike in 2022-23 and more than 73 per cent of these parties failed to publicly disclose their financial records, according to poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Its report analysed the status of submission of annual reports of a total of 739 (26.74 per cent) registered unrecognised parties across 22 states in India, whose either audit or contribution reports were available on the websites of respective state CEOs for the 2022-23 financial year. The analysis showed that both annual audit and contribution reports of a significant 73.26 per cent or 2025 of the total registered unrecognised parties are not available in the public domain for FY 2022-23. The maximum number of registered unrecognised parties, whose statements are available are in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Delhi and Bihar, given that these states have the highest number of registered unrecognised political

Tesla's money man Vaibhav Taneja joins Musk's America Party as treasurer

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja appointed Treasurer and Custodian of Records for Elon Musk's newly launched America Party, aimed at offering an alternative to the two-party political system

BJP gets 5 new state chiefs, stage set for national president election

It paves the way for the party to elect its new national president, who will succeed its sitting chief Union minister J P Nadda

SC defers hearing on PILs seeking to bring political parties under RTI

The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred the final hearing on two PILs seeking to bring major political parties under the ambit of the Right to Information Act to ensure accountability and restrict the use of black money during polls. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was to hear the PILs filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO, and lawyer Ashwini Updhyay on the issue. The CJI, who is demitting office on May 13, said these pleas will not be taken up for hearing now, adding that they will remain on board and may be heard on May 15. On February 14, the top court asked the Centre, the Election Commission and six political parties to respond to the PILs seeking to bring them under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. "We will take it up on a non-miscellaneous day for the final hearing. In the meanwhile, the pleadings have to be complete, the CJI had said. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing ADR, said his plea wa

Mayawati announces return of Akash Anand to BSP minutes after he apologised

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has extended an olive branch to her nephew Akash Anand, offering him another chance to serve the party just hours after he issued a heartfelt public apology

BJP received highest donation among national parties in FY24, shows data

The Congress received a total of ₹190.32 crore via 102 donations from corporate/business sectors and ₹90.89 crore through 1,882 individual donors

BNP leader Babul Mia beaten to death in front of wife in Bangladesh

A BNP leader was beaten to death in front of his wife by his rivals in Dhaka, police said. Mohammad Babul Mia, the former vice-president of BNP's Kulla union unit, was killed when he and her wife were harvesting mustard near Akshirnagar Housing of Dhamrai upazila on Friday afternoon, Daily Star Bangladesh reported. Babul's wife Yasmin Begum said villagers had a long-standing dispute over Akshirnagar Housing, a real estate business. "Although my husband was not involved in the matter, local criminals Afsar, Arshad, and Monir had been threatening both of us for days," she alleged. "They beat him with sticks and SS pipes, seriously injuring him. They even gouged out both his eyes. When I and some locals tried to intervene and take him to a hospital, they stopped us. Only after he became unconscious did they leave the place," she said. Babul was later taken to Savar Enam Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Dhamrai Police Statio