The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Monday, April 10, withdrew the national party status of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, and the Communist Party of India (CPI). They have been reassigned the status of a regional party.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, meanwhile, has been granted the coveted tag. Aam Aadmi Party is currently in power in two states – Delhi and Punjab.
Election Commission of India withdraws the state party status of RLD in Uttar Pradesh.
— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2023
Revolutionary Socialist Party derecognised as a state party in West Bengal.
Voice of the People Party gets recognition as a state party in Meghalaya. pic.twitter.com/fkfQ4jbwnE
In a statement, the poll panel announced that it was withdrawing the status of three recognized National Parties- AITC, CPI, and NCP. The Election Commission said they are doing it “following due process and providing the sufficient opportunity of two Parliamentary elections and 21 State Assembly Elections”.
Notably, while Mamata Banerjee’s TMC will now be acknowledged as a state party in West Bengal, Tripura, and Meghalaya, it will not be recognised as a state party in Arunachal Pradesh or Manipur, according to the EC’s order.
Further, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has been accorded a state party status in Nagaland. Tipra Motha Party, meanwhile, has got recognised as a state party in Tripura, while K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has been derecognised as a state party in Andhra Pradesh.
Election Commission of India withdraws the national party status of NCP.
— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2023
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) gets recognition as a state party in Nagaland.
Tipra Motha Party gets recognition as a state party in Tripura.
BRS derecognised as a state party in Andhra Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/tT2z9PTxMy
Election Commission of India withdraws the state party status of RLD in Uttar Pradesh.
— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2023
Revolutionary Socialist Party derecognised as a state party in West Bengal.
Voice of the People Party gets recognition as a state party in Meghalaya. pic.twitter.com/fkfQ4jbwnE
Moreover, the Election Commission of India also withdrew the state party status of RLD in Uttar Pradesh, and the Revolutionary Socialist Party was derecognised as a state party in West Bengal. Meanwhile, the Voice of the People Party got recognition as a state party in Meghalaya.
Notably, the EC grants national party status to political parties based on certain criteria:
- The party must secure at least 6 percent of the valid votes polled in any four or more states at a general election to the Lok Sabha or to the State Legislative Assembly.
- The party must win at least 4 seats in the Lok Sabha from any state.
- The party must win at least 2 percent of the seats in the Lok Sabha (i.e. a minimum of 11 seats) from at least three different states.
- The party should be recognized as a state party in at least four states.
It may be recalled that after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ‘National Party’ status of some of the parties was being reviewed by the Election Commission of India.
The ECI issued show-cause notices to the three parties in July 2019, asking them to explain why their national party status should not be revoked after their performance in the Lok Sabha elections that year.
Responding to ECI’s notice, the TMC has claimed that it was awarded the national party tag only in 2016 and urged the ECI to allow them to retain the status till the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The CPI has also requested the ECI to review its status till after 2024 while citing the party’s history to defend its national character. On the other hand, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has requested the Election Commission of India to wait till the Maharashtra Assembly elections result before taking a decision on the national status of the party.
However, as of today, the above-mentioned parties lost their National Party status as they no longer fulfill the criteria according to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
