The AAP has been designated as a national party, according to the Election Commission, based on its electoral success in the states of Delhi, Goa, Punjab, and Gujarat. Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee suffer a setback.
A branch of the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption campaign in 2012, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party or AAP was given national party registration on Monday. Delhi and Punjab are the two states where the party is currently in charge.
AAP has been recognised as a national party by the Election Commission based on it’s electoral success in the states of Delhi, Goa, Punjab, and Gujarat.
Chief Minister of Delhi and party leader Arvind Kejriwal described the development as a “great responsibility” and said it was “nothing less than a miracle” that the AAP has become a national party in such a short period of time.
In a major blow, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar and the Trinamool of Mamata Banerjee were both demoted to the status of regional parties. The CPI was given regional party recognition as well. An organisation with a national party tag is able to obtain office space in Delhi, more celebrity campaigners, free airtime on national broadcasters for election campaigns, a common election symbol across the nation, and more.
According to the laws, a political party must hold 2% of the Lok Sabha seats or be recognised as a state party in four or more states in order to be referred to as a national party. A party cannot get a common symbol for its candidates in states where it is not recognised after it loses national party status.
For instance, if Trinamool decides to run for office in Karnataka, its candidates won’t receive the party’s insignia there. With today’s restructure, India’s multi-party system now has six national parties: the National People’s Party (NPP), Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, the Congress, BJP, CPI(M), and the most recent entry, AAP.
Sanjay Singh, an AAP member, claimed last week that the party’s success in the forthcoming Karnataka election will increase if it is given the status of a national party. All 224 seats in Karnataka, which holds elections on May 10, are up for grabs.
Also, the state party statuses that had been awarded to the BRS in Andhra Pradesh, RLD in Uttar Pradesh, PDA in Manipur, RSP in West Bengal, PMK in Pondicherry, and MPC in Mizoram have been withdrawn by the election commission.
