The little-known Indian political parties getting millions in donations | BBC Investigations
India has more than 2,000 registered political parties, but only a small number are recognised as national or state parties. The rest are known as Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs).
Some of these little-known parties report receiving millions of dollars in donations. We wanted to find out who was behind these parties, where the money came from, and what these organisations were doing.
In 2025, the Election Commission delisted 808 such parties for not contesting an election in six years.
That prompted us to take a closer look at the parties that remained on the register.
BBC News India investigated six RUPPs that reported some of the highest donation incomes in the year before India's 2024 general election. Five of the six parties were based in Gujarat. One reported receiving donations of 620 crore rupees (around $66 million; £50 million) despite contesting just one seat.
When we visited addresses listed by some of these parties, we found shut offices and little evidence of political activity on the ground.
Our investigation also found that tax authorities have previously raised questions about alleged bogus donations involving RUPPs.
The findings raise questions about how India's political funding system monitors little-known parties receiving millions in donations, and whether enough scrutiny exists around such funding.
Reporter: Shubhangi Misra
Shoot and Edit: Deepak Jasrotia
Holding Editor: Abhik Deb
Graphics: Wasif Khan & Chetan Singh
Additional Reporting: Tejas Vaidya
#IndianPolitics #PoliticalFunding #IndiaPolitics #ElectionCommission #PoliticalParties #RUPPs #PoliticalDonations #IndiaElections #Gujarat #ElectionFunding #BBCNews #BBCNewsIndia #InvestigativeJournalism #Politics #India
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This is the official BBC News India channel. If you want to understand and follow the India story, we hope this will be your home. Here, you’ll find stories that move your heart and explainers, interviews and documentaries on issues that you care about.
Don’t expect a 24/7 stream of news, we are not that channel. But you can look forward to top-quality BBC journalism that will help you make sense of what’s happening around you.
Do comment on our videos and posts because we will be reading them and taking them on board, and if you like what we do, you can also find us here
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India has more than 2,000 registered political parties, but only a small number are recognised as national or state parties. The rest are known as Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs).
Some of these little-known parties report receiving millions of dollars in donations. We wanted to find out who was behind these parties, where the money came from, and what these organisations were doing.
In 2025, the Election Commission delisted 808 such parties for not contesting an election in six years.
That prompted us to take a closer look at the parties that remained on the register.
BBC News India investigated six RUPPs that reported some of the highest donation incomes in the year before India’s 2024 general election. Five of the six parties were based in Gujarat. One reported receiving donations of 620 crore rupees (around $66 million; £50 million) despite contesting just one seat.
When we visited addresses listed by some of these parties, we found shut offices and little evidence of political activity on the ground.
Our investigation also found that tax authorities have previously raised questions about alleged bogus donations involving RUPPs.
The findings raise questions about how India’s political funding system monitors little-known parties receiving millions in donations, and whether enough scrutiny exists around such funding.
Reporter: Shubhangi Misra
Shoot and Edit: Deepak Jasrotia
Holding Editor: Abhik Deb
Graphics: Wasif Khan & Chetan Singh
Additional Reporting: Tejas Vaidya
#IndianPolitics #PoliticalFunding #IndiaPolitics #ElectionCommission #PoliticalParties #RUPPs #PoliticalDonations #IndiaElections #Gujarat #ElectionFunding #BBCNews #BBCNewsIndia #InvestigativeJournalism #Politics #India
Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3whmDp3
———————————–
This is the official BBC News India channel. If you want to understand and follow the India story, we hope this will be your home. Here, you’ll find stories that move your heart and explainers, interviews and documentaries on issues that you care about.
Don’t expect a 24/7 stream of news, we are not that channel. But you can look forward to top-quality BBC journalism that will help you make sense of what’s happening around you.
Do comment on our videos and posts because we will be reading them and taking them on board, and if you like what we do, you can also find us here
BBC Website 👉🏽https://bbc.in/3XjgjcP
Instagram 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3GNTSVW
Facebook 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3XgMc5M
Twitter 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3XlbAXZ
Thanks for following us!
#BBCNewsIndia #India
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