Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) emerged as the richest regional party with total income of Rs 82.76 crore in the financial year 2016-17, a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Tuesday showed.
According to the report, 32 regional parties have showed income of Rs 321.03 crore.
These 32 regional parties declared a total expenditure of Rs 435.48 crore during the year, the report added.
"SP reported having the highest income of Rs 82.76 crore, which forms 25.78 per cent of the total income of all 32 regional parties, followed by TDP (Telugu Desam Party) with an income of Rs 72.92 crore and AIADMK Rs 48.88 crore," the Delhi-based think tank ADR said.
The total income of top three regional parties - SP, TDP, AIADMK - amounted to Rs 204.56 crore, which makes 63.72 per cent of overall receipts of 32 regional parties together, the report showed.
Out of 48 regional parties considered, audit reports of 16 are unavailable for 2016-17 on the website of the Election Commission of India (ECI). This includes some major regional political parties like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), it said.
Hence, the report has analysed the income and expenditure of 32 regional political parties, which have submitted their audit report to the ECI for 2016-17.
Of the 32 regional parties, 14 have shown a decline in their income in 2016-17 as compared to 2015-16, while 13 have shown an increase in their income. Five regional parties have not submitted their Income Tax Return (ITR) to the ECI during 2015-16.
The total income of 27 regional parties that submitted ITR increased from Rs 291.14 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 316.05 crore in 2016-17, a jump of 8.56 per cent, it said.
A total of 17 regional parties have declared a part of their income as remaining unspent during 2016-17, while 15 have spent more than their income during the year.
The ADR further said that All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) have shown more than 87 per cent of their total income as unspent, while the TDP had 67 per cent of its income remaining unspent during 2016-17.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has declared spending of Rs 81.88 crore over its income, while the SP and the AIADMK declared spending Rs 64.34 crore and Rs 37.89 crore more than their total income, respectively.
The top three regional parties that incurred highest expenditure are the SP which had spent Rs 147.1 crore, followed by the AIADMK Rs 86.77 crore and the DMK Rs 85.66 crore, the report said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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