EC declares 253 political parties from 7 states as 'inactive'

The Election Commission of India on Tuesday delisted 86 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) after they were found 'non-existent' and has declared an additional 253 parties -- which have never contested an election -- as 'Inactive RUPPs'. With this, the poll panel has taken action against 537 RUPPs since May 25, 2022 when it first stepped into the issue.

An ECI statement said 86 RUPPs were found to be 'non-existent' either after a physical verification carried out by the respective Chief Electoral Officers of the concerned states/UTs or based on report of undelivered letters/notices from the postal authority sent to the registered address of the concerned RUPP.

Section 29A of the Representation of People's Act, 1951, requires that every political party must communicate any change in its name, head office, office bearers, address, PAN to the Commission without delay.


Similarly, 253 RUPPs in Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh have been declared inactive, as they have not responded to the letter/notice delivered to them and have not contested a single election either to the general assembly of a state or the Parliament election 2014 and 2019. These RUPPs have failed to comply with the statutory requirements for more than 16 compliance steps since 2015 and continue to default.

Of the 253 RUPPs, 66 will be under further scrutiny as they had sought a common symbol under para 10B in various elections but did not set up any candidates for the respective general elections. They will need to also explain the same to the ECI.