New Delhi: Amidst the results of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party has hung a big board on the roof of its Delhi office. It is written on it – Congratulations to all the countrymen on becoming a national party of AAP. AAP, which registered a bumper victory in the Delhi MCD elections a day earlier, is seen getting around 14% votes in the Gujarat assembly elections in the initial trends, while it is ahead in at least 5 seats. That is, for the first time his account is being opened in Gujarat.
On the other hand, it has its government in Punjab and its government in the capital Delhi. At the same time, earlier it got 2 seats in Goa and its vote percentage was 6.8. However, in Himachal, it is yet to get an edge on any seat. Despite this, its presence cannot be denied. Even in terms of figures, the Aam Aadmi Party seems to be becoming a national party.
How would the national party status be achieved?
There are different scales and criteria to achieve the status of a national party, and only after fulfilling this, it gets this recognition. This recognition is given by the Election Commission. There are certain conditions that a recognized party has to fulfill in order to get the status of a national party. At least one of the conditions has to be fulfilled in the Election Commission conditions.
First: Any party which has got the status of a regional party in four states gets the status of a national party.
Second: A party wins 2% of the Lok Sabha seats by combining three different states. That is, it is necessary to win at least 11 seats, but these 11 seats should not be from any one state but from 3 different states.
Third: A party can get the status of a national party if it secures 4 Lok Sabha seats and 6% of the votes in the Lok Sabha or assembly elections in four states.
A party that fulfills any one of the above conditions gets the status of a national party. Loksabha seats and vote percentage are understandable but how the status of a regional party (state party) is achieved? What are the terms and conditions for this?
How is the status of the State Party achieved?
- Any recognized party from the Election Commission needs eight percent votes to get the status of regional (regional party) or state party. It is necessary to get 8 percent votes in the Lok Sabha or Assembly elections in the concerned state.
- If a party gets six percent votes and two seats in the assembly elections, then it gets the status of a regional party.
- Another way to get the status of a regional party is to get at least three seats in the assembly in the concerned state irrespective of the vote share.
What is the number of national parties in India?
Under the Symbol Order 1968, if a party loses its status as a national party, then it does not have the right to contest elections on the same symbol throughout the country. Prior to 1968, the Commission used to issue notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules. According to the Election Commission, at present, there are eight national parties, Trinamool Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India, Marxist Communist Party, Indian National Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, and National People’s Party.
