New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday recognised Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party and withdrew the same tag of Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI). In an order issued on Monday, the poll body said that the AAP has been named as a national party based on its electoral performance in four states — Delhi, Goa, Punjab and Gujarat. The Kejriwal-led party is currently in power in Delhi and Punjab. The Commission also said that NCP and TMC will be recognised as state parties in Nagaland and Meghalaya respectively based on their performance in the recently concluded assembly elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, CPI(M), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), National People’s Party (NPP), and the AAP are now the national parties.
The Commission also revoked the state party status granted to Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Andhra Pradesh, People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) in Manipur, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) in Puducherry, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in West Bengal and Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) in Mizoram.
It also granted ‘recognised state political party’ status to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland, Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya, and the Tipra Motha in Tripura.
