ECI to intensify scrutiny of groups seeking status of political party
Election Commission Tightens Rules for New Political Parties in India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rolled out stricter checks to keep fake political parties out and ensure only real ones get registered. On Tuesday, officials announced that the ECI will now verify the backgrounds of at least 20 randomly picked founding members for every new application. This move aims to clean up the system and make sure genuine groups get a fair shot.
"We want to weed out shady applicants and focus on the real deal," the ECI said in a statement. Since these members might come from different districts or states, Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) will team up with District Electoral Officers (DEOs) to handle the verifications. This step comes as part of the ECI’s big push to fix the electoral system by removing non-existent or inactive Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs).
Under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, all political parties—whether national, state, or RUPPs—register with the ECI. So far, the commission has made solid progress in this cleanup drive. In the first round by August 9, they delisted 334 RUPPs, dropping the total from 2,854 to 2,520. Now, in the second round this August, the ECI has flagged another 476 RUPPs and asked CEOs in states and union territories to investigate them thoroughly.
This intensified scrutiny happens right at the registration stage for new political parties, helping prevent problems down the line. It’s all about building a stronger, more transparent electoral process in India.
ECI Meets Naam Tamilar Katchi for Better Election Ideas
On the same day, the ECI hosted a meeting with leaders from Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), a regional party from Tamil Nadu. The delegation, led by authorized representative K. Senthilkumar, shared their suggestions and concerns to improve elections.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, welcomed them at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. The ECI praised these chats as a way to build trust and dialogue with political parties, sticking to the legal rules.
The commission has been busy with such interactions for months, talking to presidents and top leaders from national and state parties. In fact, they’ve held over 4,719 all-party meetings across India in the last six months alone. These efforts show the ECI’s commitment to making elections fairer and more inclusive for everyone.
