A small basement in a residential house. A tiny rented room in a commercial complex. A road safety equipment shop. 

These unlikely addresses belong to three political parties that together received a staggering Rs 375 crore in political donations over the last five years.

That’s just the tip of an iceberg.

These are among the 10 unrecognised parties with the highest donations. 

Despite any substantial public presence or electoral performance, they collectively received over Rs 3,014 crore in political donations during this period. That’s more than double the amount received by the country’s main opposition party Congress, which declared Rs 1,225 crore in donations in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2023–24.

Though none of these parties are recognised political entities. 

They fall under the category of registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) – a classification in India’s electoral system for political parties that are registered with the Election Commission of India but fail to meet the criteria required for recognition as either a state or national party. These criteria mandate that a group must either win a minimum percentage of valid votes polled or secure a certain number of seats in an assembly or Lok Sabha election. There are 2,764 such RUPPs in India.

RUPPs are legally entitled to accept donations from individuals and corporate entities under Section 29B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. They cannot receive foreign donations under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. And they enjoy income tax exemptions under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 – provided they submit annual returns and disclose contributions above Rs 20,000 to the ECI.

However, many such parties have opaque financial activities. 

Consider most of the cases among these top 10 recipients. 

What audit reports and contribution reports suggest

Newslaundry looked at the audit reports that detail expenditures for all these 10 parties: Prabal Bharat Party, Rashtriya Vikas Party, Saurashtra Janta Paksha, Aam Janmat Party, Bhartiya National Janta Dal, Jan Man Party, Jan Sevak Kranti Party, New India United Party, Public Political Party and Satyawadi Rakshak Party.