A recent analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has shed light on the financial health of India's regional political parties for the fiscal year 2024-25. The report identifies N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) as the wealthiest, with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) following closely behind.
TDP Leads Income, TMC Ranks Second
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) declared an income of ₹228.315 crore for FY 2024-25, representing 19.14% of the total income reported by 36 regional parties. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured the second spot with an income of ₹219.3538 crore. Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress also reported a significant income of ₹140.386 crore.
Collectively, the 36 regional parties analyzed reported a total income of ₹1,192.944 crore. However, their combined expenditure for the same period was ₹1,433.068 crore, indicating that overall spending exceeded income by ₹240.124 crore.
Overspending a Key Concern
The ADR report highlighted a concerning trend: 21 out of the 36 regional parties spent more than their declared income during the financial year. The YSR Congress topped the list of spenders, with an expenditure of ₹340.203 crore, significantly surpassing its income. Other major spenders included Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) at ₹288.44 crore, the TMC at ₹227.5989 crore, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) at ₹180.599 crore.
The report also noted a substantial decline in the overall income of regional parties compared to the previous fiscal year. Combined income fell by 51.57%, from ₹2,463.175 crore in FY 2023-24 to ₹1,192.944 crore in FY 2024-25. While 19 parties saw an increase in income, 17 experienced a decline.
Other Parties and Audit Delays
Among other parties, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) reported an income of ₹86.237 crore and spent ₹50.381 crore. Pawan Kalyan's Janasena Party declared an income of ₹64.107 crore against an expenditure of ₹56.944 crore. Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) reported ₹60.784 crore in income and ₹24.516 crore in expenditure. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had an income of ₹37.257 crore with expenditures of ₹11.834 crore, and the Communist Party of India (CPI) declared ₹29.792 crore in income against ₹28.822 crore in spending.
The ADR also pointed out significant delays in the submission of annual audit reports. Out of 67 recognized regional parties, only 15 submitted their reports by the deadline. Twenty-one parties faced delays of up to 96 days, while 31 parties had still not made their audit reports available on the Election Commission website, even 207 days after the deadline. Prominent parties whose reports were unavailable included the DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT), and JKNC.
The TDP notably retained over ₹166.985 crore as unspent funds, the highest among all parties analyzed. The MNS and AIADMK followed with unspent incomes of ₹36.268 crore and ₹35.856 crore, respectively. The top five regional parties collectively accounted for nearly 69% of the total income and over 77% of the total expenditure reported in the ADR study.