Poll panel removes 17 inactive political parties from Uttarakhand register

The Election Commission has removed 17 unrecognised political parties from the register of recognised political organisations in Uttarakhand as part of an exercise to clean up records of inactive parties, according to sources.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Uttarakhand, said the parties were deregistered after they neither contested any Lok Sabha or Assembly election since 2019 nor could their registered office addresses be verified during a physical inspection.

Among the parties removed are Bharat Qaumi Dal, Bharat Parivar Party, Bharatiya Samrat Subhash Sena and Peoples Party, all based in Haridwar.

The list also includes Dehradun-based Bharatiya Mool Nivasi Samaj Party, Bharatiya Antyodaya Party, Bharatiya Gram Nagar Vikas Party, Gorkha Democratic Front and Uttarakhand Janshakti Party.

Other parties removed from the register are Prajatantra Party of India in Nainital and Suraj Seva Dal in Haldwani.

The latest action follows an earlier round of deregistration in which six unrecognised political parties were removed from the state's register. Those included Bharatiya Jankranti Party, Bharatiya Janmanch Party, Maidani Kranti Dal, Prajamandal Party, Rashtriya Gram Vikas Party and Rashtriya Jansahay Dal.

The Election Commission has been reviewing the status of registered unrecognised political parties across the country to identify organisations that have become inactive or are no longer functioning from their declared addresses.

With PTI inputs