New Delhi, July 1 -- In a significant crackdown, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun the process of delisting 345 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) across states and Union Territories over their failure to comply with important conditions to continue their existence.

The two essential criteria that they didn't fulfil are contesting any election, such as the Lok Sabha, legislative assemblies of states and Union Territories or bye-elections since 2019, and setting up of physical offices.

Led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, this initiative is part of a nationwide effort to identify and eliminate inactive political parties that ...