AITC, NCP, CPI lose national party status, AAP gains the status
All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Communist Party of India (CPI) all lost their status of national party on Monday, while Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), courtesy its fantastic performance in the Punjab assembly election (in which state it is the governing party now, along with Delhi) and creditable performance in Gujarat (where it won five seats) became a national party for the first time.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced these decisions, along with a host of other status changes. While NCP was recognised as a national party in 2000, TMC was granted the status in 2016.
With these changes, the number of national parties has come down from seven to six—Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), National Peoples’ Party (NPP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
A party must fulfil ANY OF THE THREE following conditions for the ECI to grant it the status of national party:
• Get at least 6 per cent of the total votes polled in at least four states separately and win at least four seats in the last national (that is, Lok Sabha) election
• Win at least 2 per cent of the total seats in the last national election and win those from a minimum of three states
• Be recognised as a state party in at least four states
The state party status of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in Bengal, People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) in Manipur, Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) in Puducherry, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS, formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS) in Andhra Pradesh) and Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) in Mizoram were withdrawn.
The ECI also gave three political parties, all of which are new, in three states the status of state party—Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland and Tipra Motha Party in Tripura.
