National Party
Present circumstances:
- The Election Commission recently removed the status of the All-India Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Communist Party of India, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has maintained it (CPI).
- The Commission has revoked the status of the RLD in Uttar Pradesh, BRS in Andhra Pradesh, PDA in Manipur, PMK in Pondicherry, RSP in West Bengal, and MPC in Mizoram as state parties.
- The BJP, Indian National Congress, CPI(M), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), National People’s Party (NPP), and AAP are the remaining national parties.
What is a national party?
- According to the definition, a national party is one that is active “nationally,” as opposed to a regional party, which is active only in a particular state or region.
- In India, national parties like the Congress and BJP are frequently the bigger parties. Yet, certain lesser-known parties, like the communist parties, are recognized as national parties.
- Several parties are strong in a sizable state but are still regarded as regional parties, such as the DMK in Tamil Nadu, BJD in Odisha, YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh, RJD in Bihar, or TRS in Telangana.
- Often having a certain stature is associated with being a national party, but this does not always entail having a significant political presence at the national level.
A national party is what?
- The ECI has defined the technical standards for a party to be recognized as a national party.
- A party might occasionally gain or lose national party status depending on how frequently these conditions are satisfied.
According to the ECI’s Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019, a political party would be classified as a national party if:
- A minimum of four states have “recognized” it as an alternative.
- if at the most recent Lok Sabha or Assembly elections, its candidates received at least 6% of all valid votes cast in four or more states, and if the most recent Lok Sabha elections resulted in at least four MPs.
- if it has won at least 2% of the Lok Sabha’s total seats and at least three states.
For a party to be accepted as a state party, they must possess the following:
- at least 3% of the total number of seats in the most recent Assembly elections or three seats, whichever is higher; at least one MP for every 25 members or other fraction allocated to the state in the Lok Sabha; at least 8% of the total valid votes cast in the most recent Assembly election and at least two MLAs; or at least 6% of the total votes cast in the most recent Lok Sabha elections and at least one MP from that state.
- The AAP has significant vote shares and strong majorities in Delhi and Punjab. At the Goa Assembly elections held in March of last year, it received 6.77% of the vote.
- This demonstrated that, prior to the Gujarat-Himachal elections at the end of 2022, the party had already satisfied the prerequisites for recognition as a state party in three states.
- It then required to get 6% of the vote in the Assembly elections in either Gujarat or Himachal to be recognized in a fourth state and qualify to be recognized as a national party.
The national party has the following benefits/resources:
- Any other political party in India is not permitted to use the election symbol of a party that has been recognized as a national or state party.
- A nomination for a recognized “State” and “National” party only requires one proposer.
- The recognized “state” and National Parties are given two sets of electoral rolls by the Election Commission without charge. Also, candidates running on the platforms of national or state parties are provided a free copy of the electoral roll during the general elections.
- For the National parties to erect their party headquarters, the government offers land or a building.
- Whereas other parties are limited to 20, national parties are allowed up to 40 celebrity campaigners. The costs associated with the travel and other expenses of well-known campaigners are not included in the election expenses of the party candidate.
- National Parties are granted a time window to address the public and convey their message on state and national television and radio.
Conclusion:
- Democratic institutions like political parties are essential. By running in elections, parties provide voters a choice in their representatives, and when they are in opposition, they may hold governments accountable.
- As a result, the advantages of being acknowledged as a national party will help to improve the existing government’s accountability and transparency through discussion, debate, and support.
