 "Arvind Kejriwal, MCD polls")
The Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the list of national and state political parties on Monday, elevating Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to national party status while demoting veteran politician Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The EC made its decision after reviewing the poll results of the parties in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, as well as the election results of 21 state assemblies since 2014.
"Review of the poll performance of AAP shows that in the general election to Legislative Assembly of Gujarat, AAP polled 12.92 per cent of total vote," the commission said in its order. "It has fulfilled the criteria of a state party in Gujarat… and is already a recognised state party in Delhi, Goa and Punjab," it added.
The country now has six national parties: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI), National People’s Party (NPP) and AAP.
How does EC grant national status to a party?
A political party is recognised as a national party if it meets any of the three conditions outlined in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968:
- First, it must receive at least six per cent of the votes cast in four or more states in Lok Sabha or assembly elections, and it must also have at least four Lok Sabha members.
- Second, it holds at least two per cent of the Lok Sabha seats and has candidates from at least three states.
- Third, at least four states recognise it as a state party.
The AAP, which was founded in November 2012, has already established itself as a state party in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Punjab, and Goa. According to the EC, the AAP's recognition as a state party in Gujarat earned it national party status as well.
What are the advantages of being a national party in India?
- If a party is granted national status, it has specific benefits and advantages, such as reserved party symbols, and its candidates get more coverage on television and radio during elections.
- The right to use a reserved symbol is granted to a national party for all elections held throughout the country. This emblem is unique to the party and may not be used by anyone else.
- A national party can run in elections across the country and field candidates in any state, allowing it to broaden its support and influence.
- A national party can engage 40 star campaigners, compared with 20 for a registered unrecognised party. The expenses of star campaigners are not included in the party's overall costs of organising an election campaign.
- A party having 'national' status receives land from the government to build its headquarters.
- National parties must have only one proposer in order to submit a nomination. During the roll revision, they are provided with two free sets of electoral rolls. They also get one free electoral roll for each candidate during general elections.
Why did NCP, TMC lose their national party status?
In the assembly elections between 2017 and 2018, the NCP lost its state party status in Goa, Manipur, and Meghalaya, where its vote share was 2.28 per cent, 0.95 per cent, and 1.61 per cent, respectively. It is still a state party in Maharashtra, where it received 16.71 per cent of the vote share in the 2019 Assembly elections. The party was also granted state party status in Nagaland following the Assembly elections earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the EC stated that the TMC had ceased to be a state party in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, but it remained a state party in West Bengal and Tripura, and that it had been granted state party status in Meghalaya for the 2023 elections.
The EC found that the TMC did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Arunachal Pradesh or Manipur, but received 0.40 per cent and 43.28 per cent of the vote in Tripura and West Bengal, respectively. From 2016 to 2018, the party got 44.91 per cent of the vote in West Bengal, 1.41 per cent in Manipur, and 0.30 per cent in Tripura in Assembly elections. In the most recent elections, the party received 48.02 per cent of the vote in West Bengal (2021), but did not contest in Manipur (2022).
Reaction of the parties
Following the announcement by the EC, Arvind Kejriwal congratulated everyone for the "miracle."
"National party in such a short time? This is nothing less than a miracle. Many congratulations to all. Crores of people from the country have taken us here. People expect a lot from us. Today, people have given us this huge responsibility. Lord, bless us to fulfil this responsibility well," Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
इतने कम समय में राष्ट्रीय पार्टी? ये किसी चमत्कार से कम नहीं। सबको बहुत बहुत बधाई
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 10, 2023
देश के करोड़ों लोगों ने हमें यहाँ तक पहुँचाया। लोगों को हमसे बहुत उम्मीद है। आज लोगों ने हमें ये बहुत बड़ी ज़िम्मेदारी दी है
हे प्रभु, हमें आशीर्वाद दो कि हम ये ज़िम्मेदारी अच्छे से पूरी करें
Reacting to the loss of national party status, CPI National Secretary Binoy Viswam said, "National recognition is of course important from a technical point of view. CPI's recognition is in the hearts of the toiling masses. It is built up with the blood, sweat and tears of the fighting people. The party will intensify its battle for democracy, secularism and socialism."
National recognition is ofcourse important from technnical point of view.CPI's recognition is in the hearts of the toiling masses. It is built up with the blood,sweat and tears of the fighting people.The party will intensity it's battle for democracy, secularism and socialism.
— Binoy Viswam (@BinoyViswam1) April 10, 2023
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress is exploring legal options to challenge the EC's decision to withdraw the national party status of the TMC, news agency ANI reported.
"Trinamool Congress has overcome many obstacles, we will overcome this too. We will continue to do what we have to do, it will not make any difference," said TMC MP Saugata Roy.
In other decisions, the EC also granted state party status to the Lok Janshakti Party in Nagaland, Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya, and Tipra Motha in Tripura, based on their recent poll performances.
(With agency input)
