Election Commission Recognises AAP As National Party, Setback For NCP, CPI And TMC

With the removal of NCP, CPI and TMC, there are now only six national parties recognised by the Election Commission of India.

The Election Commission on Monday granted national party status to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party. Formed in November 2012, the Aam Aadmi Party has got national party status in just 10 years.

The poll watchdog also derecognised Sharad Pawar's NCP, CPI and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress as national parties.

The ECI said the AAP was elevated as a national party based on its electoral performance in four states -- Delhi, Goa, Punjab and Gujarat.

The development comes after Karnataka High Court last week passed directions to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to pass an order before April 13 regarding the national party status of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The upcoming Karnataka polls will be AAP's first election as a "national party". The 224-member Karnataka Assembly will undergo polls on May 10, and the counting of the votes will be done on May 13.

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said it was nothing less than a "miracle" for AAP to get the national party status in such a short time.

"National party in such a short time? This is nothing less than a miracle. Many congratulations to all. Crores of people of the country have brought us here. People expect a lot from us. Today people have given us a huge responsibility," Kejriwal tweeted.

"It's a big thing for us. This wouldn't have been possible without people's support. People are with us. We want God to give strength to Arvind Kejriwal to keep on moving forward," ANI quoted Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj as saying.

With the removal of NCP, CPI and TMC, there are now only six national parties recognised by the Election Commission of India -- BJP, Congress, AAP, National People's Party, CPM, and BSP.

The Commission also revoked the state party status granted to RLD in Uttar Pradesh, BRS in Andhra Pradesh, PDA in Manipur, PMK in Puducherry, RSP in West Bengal and MPC in Mizoram.

It also granted "recognised state political party" status to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland, Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya and the Tipra Motha in Tripura.

Requirements To Become A National Party

A national party needs to have two per cent of Lok Sabha seats in a minimum of three states. This means 11 seats. 

The other criterion is that the party must have state party recognition in four states. For state party recognition, a party needs six per cent votes/two seats in a state assembly election, or three seats if its vote share is less than six per cent.

AAP has governments in Delhi and Punjab. In Goa, the party meets the six per cent votes/two seats requirement. AAP became eligible for 'national party' status last year after securing nearly 13 per cent of the votes in the Gujarat election. The AAP won five seats on its Gujarat Assembly election debut.