Overview
In the fiscal year 2020-21, the Samajwadi Party disclosed the largest assets, amounting to ₹561.46 crore. This figure saw a modest uptick of 1.23%, reaching ₹568.369 crore in the subsequent fiscal year 2021-22. Following closely was the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which reported total assets of ₹512.24 crore in 2021-22, a significant jump from ₹319.55 crore in 2020-21, according to a report from a non-profit organization dedicated to electoral and political reforms.
What is the ADR Report?
The distinctive aspect of political parties’ assets and liabilities, as well as income and expenditure, lies in adapting accounting standards designed for commercial, industrial, or business entities. Despite political parties not engaging in commercial activities, the essence of maintaining uniform presentation, as stipulated by accounting standards, is preserved by altering terminology. For instance, “income and expenditure” replace “profit and loss.”
As for the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) transparency guidelines, Article 324 of the Constitution empowers the ECI with comprehensive authority, as established in the Supreme Court judgment (AIR 1978 SC 851).
The report delves into the assets, liabilities, and capital disclosed by 45 Regional Parties between FY 2020-21 and 2021-22. However, comprehensive information is available on the ECI website for 44 parties in FY 2020-21 and 37 in FY 2021-22.
Assets encompass fixed assets, loans & advances, deposits and investments. At the same time, liabilities include bank borrowings, sundry creditors, overdrafts, and other liabilities. The capital or reserve fund represents the amount allocated annually by parties, deducting liabilities from total assets for party expenditure.
Declaration of assets by the Regional Parties – FY 2020-21 & 2021-22
In the fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22, the landscape of declared assets by regional parties unfolded with notable trends. A cumulative declaration of total assets by 44 Regional Parties in FY 2020-21 amounted to Rs 2249.25 crore, witnessing an upswing as 37 Regional Parties reported total assets of Rs 3000.62 crore in FY 2021-22.
Among the top 10 Regional Parties, the declared assets in FY 2020-21 amounted to Rs 1959.351 crore, experiencing a substantial surge to Rs 2909.186 crore in FY 2021-22, marking a notable 48.48% increase.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) led in FY 2020-21, with total assets reaching Rs 561.46 crore, witnessing a modest 1.23% uptick to Rs 568.369 crore in FY 2021-22. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) declared total assets of Rs 319.55 crore in FY 2020-21, escalating to Rs 512.24 crore in FY 2021-22.
Significant spikes in total assets exceeding 95% were observed in the case of DMK (244.88%), BJD (143.92%), and JD(U) (95.78%) between FY 2020-21 and 2021-22.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demonstrated a substantial 71.76% increase in total assets, progressing from Rs 21.82 crore in FY 2020-21 to Rs 37.477 crore in FY 2021-22.
On the other hand, AIADMK and TDP, among the top 10 parties, exhibited a decline in their annual declared assets by 1.55% and 3.04%, respectively. AIADMK’s assets decreased from Rs 260.166 crore to Rs 256.13 crore, while TDP’s assets decreased from Rs 133.423 crore to Rs 129.372 crore between FY 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Details of various assets declared by the Regional Parties – FY 2020-21 & 2021-22
The details of assets declared by Regional Parties in the fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22 reveal a breakdown into six major categories:
- Fixed assets
- Loans & advances
- FDR/deposits
- TDS
- Investments
- Other assets
FDR/Fixed Deposit emerged as the dominant category, constituting Rs 1716.526 crore (76.32% of total assets) in FY 2020-21 and Rs 2220.67 crore (74.01% of total assets) in FY 2021-22. The Samajwadi Party (SP) took the lead in announcing the highest assets under the head of FDR/Fixed Deposit, amounting to Rs 426.297 crore in FY 2020-21 and Rs 388.175 crore in FY 2021-22.
The second-highest category was assets declared under Fixed Assets, totalling Rs 308.244 crore in FY 2020-21 and increasing to Rs 328.846 crore in FY 2021-22.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) also reported the highest assets under the Investments category, amounting to Rs 8.711 crore in FY 2020-21 and Rs 6.881 crore in FY 2021-22.
Declaration of liabilities by the Regional Parties – FY 2020-21 & 2021-22
In the fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22, the collective liabilities declared by 44 Regional Parties amounted to Rs 54.0635 crore and Rs 74.1873 crore, respectively. Among the top 10 Regional Parties, the reported liabilities in FY 2021-22 reached Rs 72.618 crore, reflecting a substantial 42.41% increase from FY 2020-21.
TDP declared the highest liabilities in FY 2021-22, totalling Rs 42.584 crore, marking a 57.18% increase from FY 2020-21, where TDP announced liabilities worth Rs 27.092 crore. Over the same period, BJD and AAP witnessed significant spikes in their total annual liabilities, recording increases of 1481.40% and 222.50%, respectively.
On the contrary, JD(S) and AJSU Party decreased their total annual liabilities by 8.29% and 8.33% between FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22, respectively.
The breakdown of liabilities declared by Regional Parties falls into two major categories: borrowings (from banks, overdraft facilities, and sundry creditors) and other liabilities.
In FY 2020-21, Regional Parties declared Rs 39.4278 crore as “borrowings” and Rs 14.6357 crore as “other liabilities” from various sources. In FY 2021-22, the highest liabilities were under “borrowings,” with parties declaring a total of Rs 54.6592 crore, while Rs 19.5281 crore was declared under “other liabilities.”
TDP claimed the highest liabilities under “borrowings” during FY 2020-21, amounting to Rs 22.665 crore, and maintained its lead by declaring the highest liabilities under “borrowings” again in FY 2021-22, totalling Rs 39.469 crore. AIFB, JCC(J), and PDA announced nil total liabilities for FY 2020-21 and 2021-22.
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