ECI delists 19 political parties in Telangana in phase 2 and 3

IHYDERABAD: A total of 19 political parties in Telangana have come under the scanner of the Election Commission of India (ECI) as part of its nationwide exercise to weed out inactive and non-compliant outfits.

According to an ECI press note issued on September 19, the authorities delisted 19 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) from Telangana in the second and third phase of the drive for not contesting any election in the last six years.  These parties either failed to submit annual audited accounts for three consecutive years or did not file their election expenditure statements despite contesting polls.

Nationwide clean-up of RUPPs

The ECI delisted 474 parties across the country on September 18, following an earlier action against 334 RUPPs on August 9. In two months, we have struck off 808 parties from the list.

In the next phase, 359 more RUPPs across 23 states and Union Territories—including 10 in Telangana—are facing proceedings. Chief Electoral Officers of the states have been directed to issue show-cause notices and conduct hearings before a final decision.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of delistings in the second phase at 121, followed by Maharashtra (44) and Tamil Nadu (42). Telangana’s 19 cases, spread over both phases, underline the continued scrutiny of political outfits in the state.

The Commission said the clean-up was part of its “comprehensive and continuous strategy to strengthen the electoral system.”