Public Voice

  The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch have conducted a comprehensive examination of 111 sitting Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies who switched their political affiliations following their election to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Assemblies. This examination encompasses electoral contests held between 2022 and 2026, including by-elections conducted throughout this time frame, To facilitate this examination, the 111 instances of elected MPs and MLAs who transitioned to different political parties have been systematically organized into four separate classifications, each determined by the specific characteristics and mechanisms underlying the party change.  These categories are:  (i) Individual switch / defection, where a legislator voluntarily left one party and joined another without resigning from the House; (ii) Party merger, where the original party (or a substantial section of its legis...

T he Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and West Bengal Election Watch have conducted an analysis of all 294 election expenditure statements submitted following the West Bengal Assembly Election 2026 for the newly elected MLAs. As per the ADR the expenditure cap for MLAs during these elections was set at Rs. 40 Lakhs. These election expanse reports encompass details regarding expenditure on Public meeting and processions, campaigning via electronic and print media, costs associated with campaign workers, expenses for vehicles utilized, expenditure on virtual campaigning, costs for publishing declarations concerning criminal cases, and expenses related to campaign materials.  Crucial Facts:- In the West Bengal assembly elections of 2026,  The expenditure cap for candidates was set at Rs 40 Lakhs. Among the 294 MLAs examined, 43 (15%) have reported election expenses that are below 50% of the allowable limit in their respective constituencies.  As per the election expe...

This report, compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), examines contributions surpassing Rs 20,000 that were received by national political parties during the financial year 2024-25, based on the information parties by the parties to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The national parties under consideration include the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),The Indian National Congress (INC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), and the National People's Party (NPEP).  1. Status of Submission of Contribution Reports of National Parties, FY 2024-25  a) The due date for submission of contribution reports for the parties was 30 September 2025.  b) Only BSP, NPEP and AAP submitted their contribution reports on time while INC, CPI(M) and BJP submitted after a delay of 23 days, 66 days and 68 days respectively. 2. Donations above Rs 20,000 to National Parties from all over India, FY 2024-25  a) The total...