Registration, deregistration and delisting of parties

Detail

1. Registration under Section 29A, RPA 1951

• Registration of political parties means that the Election Commission of India (ECI) formally enters a group on its list of political parties. It is done under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1951. Parliament added this section in 1989.
• Who may apply: any association or body of Indian citizens that calls itself a political party.
• Time limit: the group must apply to the ECI within 30 days of its formation [10].
• Legal basis of the detailed rules: the ECI writes its registration guidelines under Article 324 of the Constitution (the ECI's power to superintend, direct and control elections) together with s.29A [10].
• Ideological condition: the party's constitution (its rule book) must say that the party bears true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy. It must also say that the party will uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
• Address condition: the party must give a registered office address under s.29A(4). It must report any change of address or office-bearers under s.29A(9) [6].

2. Steps in the registration procedure

Step	What happens	Condition or time limit
1. Apply	The group sends its application to the ECI	Within 30 days of formation [10]
2. Pay fee	It pays a processing fee by demand draft	₹10,000; the fee is not returned [9]
3. Show members	It files sworn affidavits from its members	At least 100 members. Each must be a registered elector (a voter on the electoral roll) and must not belong to any other registered party [9]
4. Public notice	It publishes the proposed party name in newspapers	2 national and 2 local daily newspapers, on 2 days [9]
5. Objections	Anyone may object before the ECI	Within 30 days of publication [9]
6. Decision	The ECI decides whether to register the party	This is a quasi-judicial decision (see Section 4 below)

3. What registration gives a party

• The right to accept contributions from people and companies (s.29B, RPA).
• Income-tax exemption on party income (s.13A of the Income-tax Act 1961). The Income-tax Act 2025 now replaces the 1961 Act.

• The catch: the party must file a contribution report in Form 24A under s.29C of the RPA, read with Rule 85B of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. Contributions received by a RUPP are then 100% tax-exempt [6].

• A common free symbol on request, under para 10B of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968. A common free symbol is one that all the party's candidates can use in an election.

• Up to 20 star campaigners. These are leaders whose campaign travel costs are not added to a candidate's spending limit.
• Why this matters: these money and tax benefits make it tempting to register "paper parties" that never contest elections.

4. Registered unrecognised political party (RUPP)

• Definition: a RUPP is a party registered under s.29A but not recognised as a national party or a state party.
• Recognition is a separate, higher status. A party earns it through its vote share or seats under the Symbols Order 1968. Recognised parties get a reserved symbol (a symbol that no other party can use).

Feature	Registered unrecognised party (RUPP)	Recognised party (national or state)
Law	s.29A RPA 1951	Symbols Order 1968, on top of s.29A
Symbol	Common free symbol on request (para 10B)	Reserved symbol
Star campaigners	Up to 20	Up to 40
How it is gained	ECI registration procedure	Election performance (votes or seats)

• A correction to the Class 9 textbook (iest107): it says that "only political parties registered with the ECI can contest." This overstates the rule.
• Independents (candidates with no party) can contest freely.
• A candidate put up by an unregistered group simply contests as an independent.

5. Deregistration: the ECI has no general power

• Deregistration of political parties means cancelling a party's registration completely.
• The RPA has no clause that lets the ECI cancel a registration.
• Indian National Congress v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002), Supreme Court:
• When the ECI registers a party under s.29A, it acts in a quasi-judicial way. This means it acts like a court: it hears both sides and decides by fixed rules.
• Once it has made that decision, the ECI cannot review or cancel it.

• There are only three exceptions:

  1. the party got registered by fraud or forgery;
  2. the party amends its constitution to give up its s.29A allegiance to the Constitution, socialism, secularism and democracy;
  3. the Central Government declares the party unlawful, for example under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

• Demands for reform:

• The ECI has asked for the power to deregister parties in its proposals of 1998, 2004 and 2016 (ECI Proposed Electoral Reforms).
• The Law Commission's 255th Report, Electoral Reforms (March 2015), supported giving the ECI this power [11].
• Parliament has not yet amended s.29A to give it.

6. Delisting: the ECI's workaround

• Delisting of registered unrecognised parties means removing a RUPP from the ECI's list of registered parties.
• It is not legal deregistration. The 2002 judgment does not allow the ECI to deregister.

• In practice, a delisted party loses all benefits under s.29B and s.29C of the RPA, the Income-tax Act, and the Symbols Order 1968 [6].

• Who is targeted:

• parties that have not contested any election for 6 years in a row. The ECI's registration guidelines say such a party "shall be taken off the list" [3];
• parties that cannot be found at their registered address;
• parties that do not file contribution reports, audited accounts or election expenditure reports.

7. The 2022 compliance drives

• 25 May 2022: the ECI deleted 87 RUPPs. Physical checks by the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) showed that they did not exist at their registered addresses [6].
• In the same drive, the ECI found that 66 RUPPs had claimed income-tax exemption without filing Form 24A contribution reports [6]. The ECI then referred such cases to the tax authorities.
• 20 June 2022: 111 more RUPPs were deleted [7].
• September 2022: the ECI declared 253 RUPPs "inactive". It barred them from using the benefits of the Symbols Order 1968 [8].
• Right of appeal: a party aggrieved by deletion could approach the CEO or the ECI within 30 days, with proof that it exists and has followed the rules [6].

8. The 2025 nationwide delisting drive

• The test: the party had not contested even one election for 6 continuous years since 2019 [3].
• Safeguard: the state or UT CEOs first issue show-cause notices (notices asking the party to explain why it should not be delisted). The party then gets a hearing before the CEO, so that no party is delisted unfairly [5].

Round	Identified	Delisted	Date	Effect
1st	345 RUPPs (June 2025) [2]	334	9 August 2025	RUPPs fell from 2,854 to 2,520 [3]
2nd	476 RUPPs (August 2025) [4]	474	18 September 2025	Total delisted: 808 in about two months [5]
3rd	359 RUPPs (September 2025)	Notices issued; hearings before the state CEOs	—	For not filing audited annual accounts for the last 3 financial years (2021-22 to 2023-24), or for contesting elections without filing election expenditure reports [5]

• After the two rounds, about 2,046 RUPPs remained on the list (2,854 − 808).
• The NCERT figure is out of date. (NCERT: "more than 750 registered parties" — Class 10 jess404.) Class 9 iest107 has a "Let's Explore" box that asks students to find the current number.

Prelims Hooks

• Section 29A, RPA 1951 (added in 1989) deals with party registration. The group must apply within 30 days of its formation.
• The s.29A declaration covers allegiance to the Constitution, to socialism, secularism and democracy, and to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
• Procedure: a ₹10,000 fee, affidavits from at least 100 registered electors, and public notice in 2 national and 2 local dailies, with 30 days for objections.
• Section pairs: s.29B gives the right to accept contributions. s.29C requires the contribution report (Form 24A). Para 10B of the Symbols Order 1968 gives a common free symbol to a RUPP.
• INC v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002): registration is quasi-judicial, so the ECI has no general power to deregister. There are only 3 exceptions: fraud, giving up the s.29A allegiance, or a Central Government declaration that the party is unlawful.
• Trap: "Only registered parties can contest elections" is wrong. Independents can contest freely.
• Trap: delisting is not deregistration. A delisted party loses its benefits, but its s.29A registration has not been legally cancelled.
• 2025 drive: 334 delisted on 9 August 2025 (2,854 → 2,520), then 474 on 18 September 2025, a total of 808. A third round sent notices to 359 RUPPs.
• Law Commission 255th Report (2015) on electoral reforms backed giving the ECI the power to deregister parties.

Mains Points

• Gap in the law: India makes registration easy and gives it money benefits (s.29B, s.29C and tax exemption), but it has no exit route. After the 2002 judgment, the ECI can only use delisting, which can be challenged in court.

• Reform: amend s.29A to allow deregistration for not contesting elections and for not filing accounts. This is what the ECI asked for in 1998, 2004 and 2016, and what the Law Commission's 255th Report (2015) backed.

• Money laundering risk: "paper parties" can collect 100% tax-exempt donations and pass money through them. The 2022 drives found 66 such tax claims without Form 24A [6]. This weakens transparency in political funding.

• Fixes: link registration to regular filing of audited accounts, and share data with the tax department.

• Balancing regulation against freedom: a strict deregistration power could be misused against small or new parties. Article 19(1)(c) protects the freedom of association.

• Safeguards: clear grounds in law, show-cause notices, CEO hearings (as in the 2025 drive) and appeal to the courts. These keep the clean-up fair as well as effective.