ECI Delists 474 More Political Parties In Second Phase For Not Contesting Polls In Six Years

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said it has delisted 474 more registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) for not contesting a single election in the past six years.

In the first phase of the exercise, held on August 9, the ECI had delisted 334 registered unrecognised political parties.

Following the latest removal of RUPPs, a total of 808 registered unrecognised political parties have been delisted in the last two months.

“Guidelines for registration of Political Parties mention that if the party does not contest elections continuously for 6 years, the party shall be taken off the list of registered parties,” the ECI said in a statement on Friday.

“As part of a comprehensive and continuous strategy to clean up the electoral system, the ECI has been conducting a nationwide exercise to identify and delist Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) which have failed to fulfil the essential condition of contesting even a single election for 6 years continuously, since 2019,” the Election Commission said.

In the second phase,“ECI delisted 474 RUPPs on September 18, 2025 based on non-contestation in elections conducted by ECI continuously for years. Thus, 808 RUPPs have been delisted in the last 2 months,” it added.

All political parties in the country are registered with the Election Commission of India under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act 1951.

The ECI further said 359 more registered unrecognised political parties have been identified for not submitting their yearly audited accounts in the last three financial years, from 2021- 22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. However, they had contested polls.

“To take this initiative further, 359 such RUPPs have been identified, for having not submitted their Annual Audited Accounts in the last three financial years (i.e. 2021- 22, 2022-23, 2023-24) within the stipulated time period and have contested elections but not filed Election Expenditure Reports. These are from 23 different states and UTs across the country,” the election body said.

It added that the CEOs of the respective states/UTs have been directed to issue show-cause notices to these RUPPs to ensure that no party is unduly delisted. Following this, the parties will be given an opportunity to be heard by the concerned CEOs.

Till recently, there were 2,520 RUPPs. After the de-listing exercise, 2,046 RUPPs remain.

MENAFN19092025007365015876ID1110084654