17 regional parties defaulted in submission of donations report to EC: ADR

New Delhi, May 2

Seventeen regional parties have defaulted in submitting their donations report to the Election Commission during 2017-18, a civil election watchdog said in its recent report.

Association for Democratic Reforms, which advocates for electoral reforms to combat corruption and empower citizens, said in its report that if 48 regional parties analysed, only 15 had submitted their donations report to the Election Commission in the stipulated time period. Sixteen other regional parties delayed their submission by a maximum of 31 days to one day.

There are 17 regional political parties who have defaulted in submission of their donations report to the Election Commission, the ADR report said.

These include Asom Gana Parishad, Mizo National Front, and Indian National Lok Dal, it added.

The total amount of donations declared by regional parties, including both above and below Rs 20,000, was Rs 54.81 crore, from 2,824 donations.

The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal leads with Rs 13.04 crore from six donations followed by Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), which has declared receiving Rs 11.19 crore from 27 donations.

YSRC declared receiving Rs 8.35 crore, the third highest amongst all regional parties, the report said.

According to the report, 59.44 per cent or Rs 32.58 crore of the total donations received by regional parties had been received solely by top three regional parties.

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party received 5 per cent, which amounts to around Rs 41.6 lakh crore of the total donations above Rs 20,000 received from abroad, the report said.

The ADR report focuses on donations declared by regional political parties, during the financial year 2017-18, as submitted by the parties to the Election Commission. PTI