The Samajwadi Party is the richest among the regional parties with an income of Rs 82.76 crore in 2016-’17, according to an Association for Democratic Reforms report published on Tuesday. The total income of 32 regional parties was pegged at Rs 321.03 crore.
The Telugu Desam Party came in second with an income of Rs 72.92 crore and All India Anna Dravida Munntetra Kazhagam third with Rs 48.88 crore, reported the Delhi-based organisation that works for electoral and political reforms. The total income of the top three regional parties amounted to Rs 204.56 crore, which is 63.72% of overall receipts of 32 regional parties together, the report showed.
Of the 48 regional parties considered, the report has analysed the income and expenditure of the 32 regional parties that have submitted their audit report to the Election Commission of India for 2016-’17. Audit reports of 16 parties, including those of Aam Aadmi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and Rashtriya Janta Dal, were unavailable.
The 32 regional parties declared a total expenditure of Rs 435.48 crore during the year, of which 17 showed Rs 114.45 crore collectively as unspent income. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Janata Dal (Secular) have more than 87% of their total income remaining unspent, according to the report.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has declared expenditure of Rs 81.88 crore over its income, while the Samajwadi Party and the AIADMK declared spending Rs 64.34 crore and Rs 37.89 crore, respectively, more than their total income.
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