Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC to become top-grossing regional parties in 2024-25: ADR | Today’s news
The top five regional parties contributed almost 69% of total revenue and accounted for more than 77% of total expenditure among the parties surveyed, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report for the financial year 2024-25 revealed.
Among the regional parties analysed, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) reported the highest income. ₹228.31 crore, representing 19.14% of the total revenue. It was followed by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) which declared an income of Rs ₹219.35 crore and YSR Congress p ₹140.39 crore, the report said.
In terms of expenditure, the YSR Congress has emerged as the highest spender, reporting expenditure ₹340.20 million crowns. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) followed. ₹288.44 crore in expenditure while AITC spent ₹227.59 million crowns.
Regional party revenue will drop by more than 51% in 2024-25.
The total revenue of 36 regional political parties fell by more than 51% in 2024-25 compared to the previous year, the report said. The study also found that 21 of these parties reported expenses in excess of their declared income.
The report, published on May 27, examined the audited financial statements of 36 of the 67 recognized regional parties whose audit reports for the 2024-25 fiscal year were uploaded on the Election Commission’s website. The remaining 31 parties have still not submitted audit reports, according to the report, even 207 days after the deadline on October 31 last year.
ADR analysis showed that the combined income of the 36 regional parties fell to ₹1,192.94 crore in FY 2024-25 from ₹2,463.17 crore in FY 2023-24, which saw a decrease of ₹1,270.23 crore, or 51.57 percent.
Despite the sharp decline in revenue, the parties collectively reported spending ₹1,433.07 crore which was ₹240.12 million higher than their total revenue, representing an excess of almost 20%
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The ADR report also pointed out that 21 of the 36 regional parties incurred expenses in excess of their annual income.
YSR Congress recorded the largest deficit, expenditure ₹199.82 million more than she earned, a surplus of expenses equivalent to 142.33% of her income.
Other parties that reported spending beyond their earnings included AITC, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), BJD, Janata Dal (United) and Samajwadi Party.
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Meanwhile, 15 regional parties reported surplus income for the financial year. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) recorded the highest unspent amount at ₹166.98 crore, followed by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) with ₹36.27 crore and AIADMK p ₹35.86 million crowns.
Donations and contributions
The report noted that voluntary contributions continued to be the primary source of revenue for regional parties. Donations and contributions together amounted to ₹702.36 crore, which is 58.88 percent of the total revenue.
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Among the parties, AITC received the highest donations at ₹184.08 crore, followed by YSR Congress with Rs ₹140.05 crore and TDP s ₹85.20 million crowns.
Income earned through interest also contributed a significant part of the income ₹277.21 million, or 23.24% of the total revenue.
The report also found that election-related expenditure and administrative costs continue to be the main areas of spending by regional parties.
Fifteen parties allocated more than 55% of their total spending to election campaigns. Among them, the YSR Congress recorded the highest election expenditure on ₹299.92 crore, followed by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with ₹270.66 crore and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) at ₹147.99 million crowns.
ADR further highlighted the delay in submission of audit reports. While 15 parties filed their reports by the deadline, 21 others filed late, with delays ranging from two to 96 days.
The report also highlighted that 31 regional parties, comprising major groups such as DMK, Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, had not uploaded their audit reports for the fiscal year 2024-25 on the Election Commission’s website when the analysis was being prepared.
The ADR called for stricter implementation of disclosure standards, increased transparency regarding donor information, and stricter penalties for parties that fail to submit audit reports within a specified time frame.