National Party Status

National Party Status

Why in news:

• The Election Commission recently accorded the status of National Party to the Aam Aadmi Party while withdrawing the same status for the Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

• With the removal of the NCP, the CPI and the Trinamool, there are now only six national parties in the country.
• They are the BJP, the Congress, the National People’s Party (NPP), the Communist Party of India­Marxist (CPI­M), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and the latest addition, the AAP.
• The AAP has the status of a national party as it secured nearly 13% of the vote share and five seats in the Gujarat Assembly polls earlier this year, making it a State party in four States Delhi, Goa, Punjab and Gujarat.

Conditions to Become a National Party:

According to the election commission of India, a political party is eligible to be recognized as a national party if it met one of the following conditions.

The conditions to become a national party in India are the following:

• The party receives 6% of the vote in any four or more states during a general election for the Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly, and it also gets four Lok Sabha seats.

• The party ought to win 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha election from a minimum of three distinct states.
• The party gained recognition as a state party in four states.

Benefits of Getting Recognized as a National Party in India:

• A national party has the right to grant its reserved symbol exclusively to the candidates it has nominated across India.
• Recognized “National” parties only require one proposer to submit a nomination.
• They are also entitled to two free sets of electoral rolls during roll revision, as well as one free electoral roll for each candidate during general elections.
• These parties receive broadcast and telecasting rights during general elections on Akashvani and Doordarshan.
• During general elections, political parties are permitted to nominate “Star Campaigners.”
• A registered unrecognized party may nominate a maximum of 20 “Star Campaigners,” whereas a recognized National or State party may nominate up to 40 “Star Campaigners.”
• Star campaigners travelling expenses are not included in the election expense accounts of the party.
• The government provides land or a building for the National parties to erect their party headquarters.

Syllabus: Prelims