Goa to Gujarat: Why AAP won't be a national party anytime soon

AAP is recognised as a state party in two states at the moment – Delhi and Punjab. The party needed to win at least 3 seats or get 8% of the valid vote even if it didn’t win a seat to be called a state party in Goa. Had it done so, the next stop would have been Gujarat where on fulfilling the same conditions, AAP would have qualified as a national party. With most of the counting over in Goa, AAP has managed to win just a little over 6% of the votes; thereby falling short of the 8%  required to be recognised as a state party.

Kejriwal was looking to emulate his good friend Mamata Banerjee’s trajectory. Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress was recognised as a national party in India in September 2016 by the Election Commission of India (ECI) after it met the criteria of being recognised as a state party in four or more states. The ECI on reviewing Trinamool Congress’ performance found that it was now a national party by virtue of being a state party in West Bengal, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

There are also questions on the status of Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which had already been sent a show-cause notice by the ECI after the party failed to win a single seat in the 2014 elections. The ECI had called for BSP’s response on why it should be de-recognised as a national party but later provided the party relief along with others like Communist Party of India (Marxist). The relief was provided through an order in August 2016 called Elections Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order 2016 under which new rules were introduced. Under the new rules, the performance of a party over two consecutive general or assembly elections would be considered to be recognised as a national party.

Although the BSP has been decimated in the UP assembly elections, it has time till the 2019 general elections to be a national party. The new rules came into effect retrospectively from January 1, 2014. If the BSP fails to win a seat in the 2019 elections, like in 2014, an ECI review could mean derecognition of the BSP as a national party. In 2014, BSP got a bit over 19% of the total valid votes in UP. In Punjab, the home state of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, the party polled just about 2% of the valid votes in 2014.

As of December 2016, there were seven recognised national parties in India. The status of Samajwadi Party (SP) meanwhile continues to remain the same. It was recognised as a state party in Uttar Pradesh and will continue to do so. After the comprehensive sweep of the state by the BJP, SP would continue to be a state party. The BJP won more than 33 million votes; almost 40% of the votes polled in UP.

 Kejriwal wants AAP to be a national party so that it can enjoy a host of advantages over other parties. One of the prime lures is that national parties get dedicated slots on India’s public broadcasters – All India Radio and Doordarshan during the general elections. In addition, these parties get their own reserved symbols which cannot be used by others. In India where symbols can make all the difference, this advantage is crucial. Other parties have to choose from a list of free symbols given by the ECI. Other benefits include doubling the number of star campaigners.
 

Gujarat will be the next pit-stop from where Kejriwal could again begin the quest for getting AAP recognised as a national party. The 2019 general election could meanwhile decide the BSP and Mayawati’s fate.

What a party needs to become a national party

* Seats: At least 2% of all seats in a Lok Sabha General Election (these need to be won from at least 3 states)
 

Where AAP stands: Has MPs from only one state -- Punjab
Where BSP stands: Has no Lok Sabha MP 

* State party status: A party needs to be recognised as a state party in at least four states

Where AAP stands: Recognised as state party only in Delhi and Punjab
Where BSP stands: Fulfils the criterion only in UP