The Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India, and the Nationalist Congress Party had their status as “national parties” removed by the Election Commission (EC) on Monday, but the Aam Aadmi Party retained it.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti in Andhra Pradesh, the Pattali Makkal Katchi in Puducherry, the Revolutionary Socialist Party in West Bengal, the People’s Democratic Alliance in Manipur, and the Mizoram People’s Conference in Mizoram all had their state party statuses revoked by the commission.
On Monday, the EC released a variety of distinct orders, some of which recognised some political parties as national or state parties while depriving others of those identities.
In light of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) success in the Gujarat state assembly election in December 2022, the commission certified the AAP as a national party. In the assembly elections in the western state, the candidates put out by the party received 12.92% of the valid votes cast. Out of the 182 seats in the state assembly, it won five. As a result, Gujarat was able to recognise it as a state party.
Since its inception in November 2012, the AAP has held state party status in the National Capital Territories of Delhi, Punjab, and Goa. The EC claimed that the AAP also qualified as a national party because it was accepted as a state party in Gujarat.
The Elections Commission (EC) may recognise a party as a national party if it achieves state party status in four states, as stated in Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, also known as the Symbols Order, paragraph 6B (iii).
Punjab and Delhi are currently led by the AAP.
“An idea whose time has arrived cannot be stopped. Time has come for the Aam Aadmi Party. Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the party and the NCT of Delhi’s chief minister, wrote on Twitter that “India’s time has come.” “Congratulations to all of our volunteers and supporters. We have grown into a national party.
After leaving the Congress in 1998, Mamata Banerjee floated the Trinamool Congress. Following its 2011 victory in West Bengal, the party later gained control of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura. It was given the designation of national party in 2016, but it was later revoked due to its dismal performance in the recent assembly elections in Goa and some northeastern states.
Another former Congress leader, Sharad Pawar, founded the NCP in 1999, and after winning several elections, it was recognised as a national party in 2000.
The CPI, which was established in 1925, was acknowledged as a national party in 1989, but the designation was revoked when it had a poor showing in the elections in West Bengal and Odisha.
According to the EC, the NCP and Trinamool Congress will be recognised as state parties in Nagaland and Meghalaya, respectively, along with Maharashtra and West Bengal, based on their results in the just-concluded assembly elections.
Additionally, the commission on Monday registered the Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya, the Tipra Motha in Tripura, and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland as “recognised state political parties.”
