The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu had the highest income of Rs 77.63 crore among the 32 regional parties in the country that submitted audit reports for the 2015-’16 financial year, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came second with an income of Rs 54.93 crore, while the Telugu Desam Party was ranked third with an income of Rs 15.97 crore.
The data is based on the annual audit statements submitted to the Election Commission by the parties, after the poll panel made it mandatory in 2014 for political parties to declare their income and expenditure.
The total income of the 32 regional parties in the said duration was Rs 221.48 crore, of which the DMK, the AIADMK and the Telugu Desam Party’s comprise more than 67%. Out of the Rs 221.48 crore, parties reported spending Rs 111.48 crore and were left with Rs 110 crore, the ADR said in its “Analysis of Income & Expenditure of Regional Parties for FY 2015-16”. The DMK, the AIADMK, and the AIMIM reported more than 80% of their income unspent.
At least 14 parties had reported spending more money than their actual income, the ADR report stated. The Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) spent almost 200% of their total income in 2015-’16, it said.
There are 47 regional parties in the country, but 15 parties did not submit their audit report to the Election Commission. These parties include the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Indian National Lok Dal and the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, among others.
Of the 32 regional parties, only 18 of them had submitted the details of their Income Tax returns as well as donation statements. Parties with the highest number of unknown sources of income are the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Telugu Desam Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal, the report said.
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