IAS Gyan

Daily News Analysis

NATIONAL PARTY

10th December, 2022 Polity and Governance

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About

  • The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is on track to be recognized as a national party by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
    • The Party was founded in 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement.
    • The AAP is currently ruling in Delhi and Punjab.
    • The party's election symbol is a broom.
  • National Party
    • As the name suggests that a national party would have a presence ‘nationally’, as opposed to a regional party whose presence is restricted to only a particular state or region.
  • At present, there are eight national political parties in India. They are;
  1. Bharatiya Janata Party
  2. Communist Party of India
  3. Communist Party of India (Marxist)
  4. Indian National Congress
  5. Nationalist Congress Party
  6. National People’s Party
  7. All India Trinamool Congress
  8. Bahujan Samaj Party

National Party enjoys the following benefits;

  • The election symbol of the National parties can't be used by any other political party in voting across India.
  • National Parties get the time slot on national and state television and Radio to address the people and convey their message to people.
  • National parties receive land or building from the government to establish their party office.
  • National parties require only one proposer to file a nomination.
  • National Parties are given two sets of electoral rolls free of cost by the Election Commission.
  • The candidates contesting on the ticket of a National party get a copy of the electoral roll free of cost during the general elections.
  • National parties can have up to 40-star campaigners while others can have up to 20-star campaigners.
    • The expenditure incurred on the travelling and other expenses of star campaigners is not included in the election expenditure of the party candidate.

How a National party is defined

The ECI has laid down some criteria for a party to be recognised as a National party, it’s not a permanent tag and a party may gain or lose national party status from time to time, depending on the fulfilment of the conditions.

●  As per the ECI’s Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019 handbook, a political party would be considered a national party if it meets any one of the following conditions:

It is a ‘recognised’ party in four or more states, or

If its candidates polled at least 6% of total valid votes in any four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly elections and have a minimum of four MPs in the last Lok Sabha polls, or

If it has won at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from not less than three states.

To be recognized as a state party, a party needs to meet any one of the following conditions:

At least 6% vote-share in the last Assembly election and have at least 2 MLAs, or

Have a 6% vote share in the last Lok Sabha elections from that state and at least one MP from that state; or

At least 3% of the total number of seats or three seats, whichever is more, in the last Assembly elections; or

At least one MP for every 25 members or any fraction allotted to the state in the Lok Sabha; or

Have at least 8% of the total valid votes in the last Assembly election or Lok Sabha election from the state.

AAP is soon to be officially recognized as the 9th National Party, as;

○   The AAP is in power in Delhi and Punjab.
  •  In the Goa Assembly elections, it received 6.77% of the vote and 2 seats.
  •  In the Gujarat Assembly elections, it received nearly 13% of Votes and 5 seats.
 

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-politics/aap-set-to-become-a-national-party-after-gujarat-8313695/

 

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