"Registration does not mean recognition." Examine the legal framework for political parties in India under the RP Act, 1951, and the ECI's recent drive against RUPPs.

Under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, any association can register as a party with the Election Commission of India (ECI) [1]. Recognition is a higher status that only parties meeting electoral-performance tests attain. In August 2025, India had 6 National and 67 State parties but 2,854 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) [2]. Registration is easy to obtain, but recognition has to be earned.

Legal framework: the registration route

• An association must apply within 30 days of its formation. It must publish its proposed name in two national and two local dailies, after which objections are allowed for 30 days [3].
• Sec 29A(5) requires the party's constitution to pledge allegiance to the Constitution, socialism, secularism and democracy, and to uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India [1].
• The application needs affidavits from at least 100 members who are registered electors and do not belong to any other party [4].

Registration vs recognition

• Registration brings only limited benefits: contributions under Sections 29B/29C and income-tax relief. Even these depend on staying on the register [2].
• Recognition under the Symbols Order, 1968 adds a reserved symbol and further privileges. Most RUPPs never reach it.

ECI's recent drive against RUPPs

• In August 2025 the ECI delisted 334 RUPPs that had not contested any election for six continuous years. It first issued show-cause notices and held hearings, and a 30-day appeal remains available [2].
• It then began proceedings against 476 more RUPPs [5]. By September 2025, 808 parties had been delisted [6].

Gaps in the framework

• The Act has no deregistration clause. Since 1998 the ECI has asked Parliament for this power, without result [7]. Delisting is a workaround: it catches inactive parties but not parties that misuse their status.
• The Law Commission's 255th Report proposed deregistering parties that do not contest elections for ten consecutive years or that keep defaulting on disclosure [8].
• Any deregistration power could be turned against new opposition outfits. It therefore needs narrow written grounds and a right of appeal.

The RP Act sets a low bar for entry, the Symbols Order reserves real privileges for recognised parties, and the ECI cleans up the register through delisting alone. Parliament should give the ECI a defined, appealable power to deregister parties, along with mandatory financial disclosure. Combined with the Law Commission's recommendations, this would make registration a meaningful status and strengthen electoral integrity without stifling political pluralism.